Keitaro's Return
by Ein Ravenwing of the Dark Icon Writers
Summary: Keitaro's archelogical journey begins with his study abroad in America. But with Hinata Sou and Naru temporarily gone from his life, how will Keitaro react to a girl that he is currently staying with? Story takes place around manga 11. NOT AN ORIGINAL END
1. Reminiscing Times

Love Hina: Keitaro's Return

Authors Note: I don't own Love Hina

Love Hina belongs to the brilliant Ken Akamatsu.

The passengers of flight 545 seemed restless. Some were returning to Japan from their visit to the United States. Others were from America, on their way to see the sites of wondrous Japan, famous for tourism.

Many people were talking amongst one another, since people from Japan are so friendly; it was easy to start a conversation with anyone.

Even the Japanese attempted to talk with the Americans that were on board heading for Japan. One individual, sort of stood out from the rest of the happy go lucky people.

He lay there asleep, casually resting his head on the soft cushioned head rest. Dressed in his usual "water dragon" shirt and pants. Snoozing away without a care in the world.

Urashima Keitaro was obviously tired, for no one really knew him to be a snore type person. Usually, he would have dirty thoughts in his mind while sleeping, and get battered by a horde of females while calling out Naru's name in his sleep.

For those of you who are unaware of what this former kanrinin has been through, allow me to reiterate. Keitaro has just finished his 6th month in the United States, while studying at the University of California; for archeology, with Seta; of course.

He never realized he would miss everyone so dearly, even though most of them caused him harm, and usually sent him flying into the stratosphere. To think if Keitaro wasn't "gifted" with immortality, the results of his daily beatings, would be none the less, cataclysmic (if not already.)

Irregardless he missed everyone! He just laid there snoozing away, with an open book lying on his head to extinguish the light from cheating him out of a well deserved nap.

Attention passengers, Due to certain weather patterns in the area, flight 545 will be delayed to Tokyo Japan for at least one extra hour. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Damn, it was already 4:56 A.M in Tokyo. By the time Keitaro would reach Tokyo Airport. It would probably be somewhere around 9.00 A.M. Keitaro may have been a sleep, but the harsh reality of a delayed arrival would mean more disappointment. He just wanted to get back to Hinata Sou quickly.

Suddenly the plane seemed to veer off course, and to the passengers, it seemed the plane took a nose dive. People on the plane were in a state of panic, some screaming, others holding on to their lives, and women holding on to their children. The plane soon went back to normal, after a violent pull up.

Attention passengers, we are experiencing technical difficulties, everything is back to normal please stay calm. NO DON'T TOUCH THAT SIR!!

A lady was yelling at a thirty year old man, while pushing him out of the cockpit area, it was obvious to some that this man was responsible for the mishap of flight procedures.

"Please sir stay in your seat and no more shenanigans!" The woman said, as if she was scolding a little kid. Seta smiled his usual smile, obvious pleased with his ordeal. The passengers gave Seta a look of fury, as they feared their lives after that little, "stunt."

"Ha ha ha, what fun! Isn't that right part-timer?" Seta said laughing while holding his hand behind his head. Seta quickly saw that Keitaro was asleep and that his legs were caught on the arm rest, while his back was ceremoniously scrunched over the other arm rest.

"Keitaro-kun! Who did this to you?! I swear, if I find them I'll...." Seta was shaking his fist violently, obviously unaware that he was the cause of Keitaro's disfigurement.

Seta quickly moved Keitaro's body to where it resumed its' normal sleeping position. What Seta saw next made him grin.....Keitaro's journal lie at his feet, where it must of fell off of Keitaro's head from the plane dive.

Seta picked up the journal, examining it with a hint of curiosity, as would anyone else who would find the "key to one's mind." He sat down smiling as he looked at Keitaro one last time before opening it up to the last page, which was wrote just today.

The 6th month.

I am on my way back home to good ole Japan. I've never been more excited to see everyone again for the 1st time in six months. I miss everyone, and I mean everyone! Even those who gave me the most pain

Kitsune had always been a trouble maker to me. She was one of the people that was more interested in other peoples' lives, other than her own. I could never understand her personality, or what was really going on in her life. All I knew her for was a drunken, eavesdropping, fox like, troublemaker. To make things worse she is Naru's best friend. So Kitsune knew Naru more than anyone.

Kaolla was always, and I quote always a pain in the back. Whether it was mad scientist like creations being tested upon me, or it was her infamous "drop kicking" abilities. Kaolla and Sara was just a pain, a couple of kids who usually got me into the most trouble. Of course I was quite surprised to find the "other" side of Kaolla, the one that appears at the rare red moon.

Shinobu, Ahh Shinobu.....her cooking was remarkably delicious. That's an understatement of course. Shinobu is like a God send angel, she the sweetest most kindest person, I've ever met. She'll grow up and become very beautiful someday, but of course she is beautiful already. I don't care what unique foods they had in the U.S. Shinobu-chan's is the best, and forever will be. But what's more she's so mature, she doesn't even know it. She probably misses me the most.

Motoko was always the strong type. Constantly training and always carrying her burdens by herself, never allowing others to be involved in her personal affairs. Well except the time I helped her defeat her sister (sort of), at least I earned her trust by that. Although her personality is hard to explain, under her tough as nails warrior like attitude, lies dormant a caring and understanding person. That is, if you can get past her bone crunching sword techniques. But underneath it all, she is breathtakingly beautiful.

Mutsumi was always a kind hearted soul, a little on the slow side, but still I couldn't ask for a better friend. Through all the times I had emotional downs, she was there for me to cheer me up no matter what. That is a TRUE friend. Although I admit her beauty baffled me from time to time, I even questioned why I didn't just get hitched with her. But she had other plans for me, she tried so hard to get me together when the one that I loved the most. I didn't deserve such kindness, she is the most selfless person I know.

Aunt Haruka was always the responsible adult figure in my life. If it wasn't for her and Grandma Hina, I never would have been named Kanrinin of Hinata Sou. My life would be so different if not for her. Tokyo U seemed out of my grasp, but with precious study time at Hinata Sou, that all changed. However the only thing scary about Haruka-san, is her fury shown around Seta-san.

"Ain't that the truth," Seta said smiling, while turning the page. Seta froze as he caught Keitaro slowly moving, and murmuring in his sleep.

"Naru.....I'm finally......zzzz....Toud...ai" Keitaro said unconsciously while still sleeping. Seta closed his eyes, slightly smiling to his hard working friend. Once Keitaro ceased movement again, Seta continued his reading.

Tama is a turtle, and a constant companion of mine, she is always a kind mannered, cute little turtle. Now only if she and Motoko could get along. While Tama was given to me by Mutsumi-san. Tama isn't exactly your average, Hot Springs turtle. I think the one thing that I will never forget in my lifetime, is the word ,"Myuh!"

Seta continued looking on and saw something that baffled him, there were small wet spots on a certain section of the page.

Seta looked at what it was, and to his astonishment, it was pretty obvious who the next person was on Keitaro's List.

.....Naru...Narusegawa, God I miss her so much. There hasn't been one single day out of these 6 months that I haven't thought about her. It's true, I love her....

Seta looked over at Keitaro for the first time with a saddened expression. Despite Seta's lack of intelligence at times, he knew that Keitaro loved Naru very much. Of course he knew this by the fact that Haruka-san told him.

Seta didn't want Keitaro and Naru to turn out like Seta and Haruka's relationship, or lack of.

"Keitaro-kun.....Naru-chan still isn't so clean about her feelings...yet...even though you left," Seta thought to himself.

The whole reason Seta offered Keitaro to study overseas, is because he wanted Keitaro to see the world! Also, he would try to turn Keitaro into a man, a real man.

There was quite a bit on the page about Naru, most of it was common knowledge. So Seta skipped toward the beginning of the Journal. Coming to the page in which Keitaro's journey began.

The 1st Month

To be Continued

Authors Note

Hi folks Ein Ravenwing here, this is my first LH story, so I'm trying my best. For all you people that want to type me a review, be honest! Integrity is very important so that I know how im doing on this story. Ill have chapter 2 up ASAP.


	2. Saying Goodbye

Keitaro's Return

Chapter 2

I don't own Love Hina, Love Hina belongs to Ken Akamatsu

The 1st Month Flashback (Part 1)

November

"Keitaro are you asleep?" Narusegawa said while looking at Keitaro with a smile.

Keitaro lay there asleep on the bench, obviously tired. For he had gotten up incredibly early that morning to prepare for his departure to America.

It wasn't gonna be easy without Keitaro around, especially since Keitaro and Naru were trying there best to become a couple (Well Keitaro was trying at least.)

Naru looked at Keitaro with a saddened expression.

"_If I had told him......the truth...maybe he wouldn't leave, maybe....." _Naru thought to herself

"_No, I have to let him go, I just hope.....he'll come back to me," _With that, Naru found herself slowly falling asleep.

"..._..But still, I haven't the courage to give him....my request...," _Naru thought to herself as she suddenly fell asleep. Resting comfortably, Naru now lay there on the bench next to Keitaro, asleep as soundly as he was.

After a few minutes, Keitaro was awoken by the presence of a person near him. He rubbed his eyes slightly, allowing the light to adjust his vision.

After his vision was renewed he fixed his glasses and saw Narusegawa lying next to him. Her head was resting on his shoulder and she was slightly blushing. Keitaro's eyes bulged from his head in shock, but quickly kept his equanimity.

Keitaro just stared at her, he had twenty minutes left, and he knew he would not see Naru again for six months.

So for the next twenty mintes Keitaro was savoring the moment, the moment of being with Naru for the last time before his departure.

"_I'm sorry Naru, I'm sorry that I have to leave you. But this is something I want to do. I may never be able to fulfill the promise of going to Tokyo U with you. But when I come back, I WILL settle what I started," _Keitaro thought to himself.

Keitaro moved himself so that he could be closer to Naru, if she were to wake up now he would probably get the usual treatment. But he didn't care.

Five mintes were left, Keitaro continued to stare at Naru with passionate eyes. He was going to miss her so much. But he had no idea how much he would miss her. Then something hit him....realization struck him.

He never realized how beautiful she was until now. She looked so innocent, laying their next to him sleeping.

She was an angel, a beauty that seemed to belong in the heavens above. But Keitaro knew if she were to wake up now, that beauty would be replaced by nothing short of hell itself. He couldn't help but laugh, as he remembered all the times they shared together.

The fights, him getting sent into the stratosphere, the simple misunderstandings, the occasional dates that Naru wouldn't admit to, and most of all; her kindness she showed in helping him turn his Toudai dream....into a reality.

Seta approached Keitaro from afar, trying to warn Keitaro that the plane was soon to departure. Seta saw Keitaro lying there next to Naru.

Seta smiled; there was a twinkle in his eye. He watched Keitaro from a distance, giving Keitaro his last moments with Naru alone.

Keitaro slowly moved away from Naru, he then adjusted her body to where she was straightened out; to where she was sitting upright and would not fall over. At that motion, a small piece of paper fell from Naru's lap.

Keitaro picked up the paper gently and blushed slightly at what the paper was. It was the request form that Keitaro had given to her. But what was written on the request form is what surprised Keitaro.

The request form was completely filled out, and the request, was as clear as day.

A kiss.

Naru requested a kiss from Keitaro. Keitaro however was confused as ever, but as much as he would like to review once again over in his mind whether he and Naru were lovers or not, he did not object. 

Keitaro slightly leaned forward. He was afraid, of what? Maybe he was fearful that she would wake up and send him into the sky for a new record, or maybe he would screw it up again. But nonetheless he was fearful.

"_I can't be afraid, even if she does wake up, I may never get this chance again." _Keitaro thought to himself.

Seta watched in anxiety from a distance. Would he do it? Or would they end up missing their plane?

Seta watched as Keitaro finally made up his mind. Keitaro leaned forward, eyes opened and kissed Naru softly on the lips, he then closed his eyes. What seemed like eternity was more like twenty seconds or so.

Keitaro finally opened his eyes, and released his kiss. From Seta's point of view, Keitaro pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something down upon it. He then laid the paper on Naru's lap.

Before Keitaro stood up a tear fell upon Naru's lap, he struggled to stand upright. But somehow found the strength to do so. Keitaro was blushing but he knew it, he stood up straight and walked forward slowly, while grabbing his bag.

Keitaro looked upward, starring at Seta while walking without fear, without regret, and without doubt. He would come back to Narusegawa, and he would finally tell her how he really felt about her.

Keitaro continued to walk forward, and suddenly had the urge to look back, to see Narusegawa one last time before he left.

"_I won't look back.....I can't look back now..." Keitaro thought to himself._

He kept walking, now speeding his stride up; he caught up with Seta. The two of them looked at each other and smiled.

"Are you ready part-timer?" Seta said.

Keitaro gave a grin that couldn't be wider.

"You bet! America here we come!" Keitaro said while taking off in a sprint. Seta trailed behind him just as fast.

_Attention: Flight 545 bound for San Diego California is now departing, final call, flight 545. _

"Damn, not much time!!" Seta said while running even faster than Keitaro.

Just as the plane was about to receive the last of its passengers, Seta reached the plane with seconds to spare. Followed by Keitaro five seconds later.

"Seta-san how can you run that fast!!?" Keitaro said while still gasping for air. Seta laughed casually.

"M'boy when you imagine someone like Haruka-san chasing you, you will run like no man alive," Seta said.

The two of them laughed hysterically and walked to their seats.

_Flight 545 is now departing; Thank you for choosing Tokyo Air Lines. _

"This is it Keitaro-kun, your in for the ride of your life. I'll show you all there is to America," Seta said smiling.

Keitaro looked out the window and got a good glimpse of Japan one last time before the engines of the plane kicked in and started to take off.

_Attention passengers, please fasten all safety belts, and remember no smoking. Thank you for choosing Tokyo Air lines. _

Keitaro looked at Seta with a slight hint of worry.

"Is America....really that great Seta-san?"

Seta laughed at Keitaro's lack of knowledge of America. It was more than great; it was to die for, bigger than Japan, and so much to see.

"Is it great? No part-timer....is glorious, there is so much to do, so much to see, in fact you'll need about 10 lifetimes to see it all!" Seta said while adjusting his lab coat.

"Amazing....do you think will get to to some excavating and get to make all kinds of discoveries of lost artifacts?" Keitaro asked.

Seta quickly stood up as it seemed he was about to go somewhere.

"Of course we'll do excavation. But you'll definitely make discoveries far beyond that of artifacts, Keitaro-kun," Seta said while walking toward the bathroom. Seta opened the door in the back and went into the bathroom.

..._..You'll make discoveries far beyond that of artifacts Keitaro-kun...._

"_What did he mean by that..?"_ Keitaro thought to himself.

Suddenly there was a high pitched scream that came from the bathroom. Keitaro looked in time to see Seta being thrown out of the bathroom at a high force. He hit the ground and smiled slightly while wiping the blood away from his head where he had been struck.

"Heh heh, wrong bathroom...." Seta said laughing.

"_Ugh....he'll never change...."_

Authors Note

Hey folks, sorry for the delay. I had to split Month 1 into two parts. So the second part of Month 1 will come next chaper. There so much I want to do with this story, and I have so many idea's. Please keep me informed on how im doing with this story. Be honest I'm trying my best.


	3. Where He Began

Keitaro's Return

Chapter 3

Authors Note At any given time in the story, there will be times where Keitaro is unable to understand what a person is saying because of his lack of English knowledge. However, Seta or certain people help translate it for Keitaro. (Even though technically it's really all English, but oh well) Any time Keitaro doesn't understand a conversation it will be made clear to the readers that he doesn't understand.

Month One (Part 2)

November

"......and so just when you were about to swing your staff, ha ha ha ha....your staff took off Naru-chan's bra...bwa ha ha ha ha ha!!!" Seta said laughing out loud hysterically. Keitaro merely sweat dropped at Seta's humor.

Seta and Keitaro were talking about old times. Since they had nothing else better to do, plus another half hour and they would reach America. Tears were forming in Seta's eyes while he was laughing. Now that Keitaro thought about it, he would miss all the "accidents" that occurred. Keitaro rubbed the back of his head, showing a fearful smile.

"Hey that's not funny, she sent me flying right into you...remember?" Keitaro said.

Seta had a look of seriousness as he slightly remembered what happened.

"Oh yes....ahem...that was an accident...clearly," Seta said while slightly coughing with his fist toward his mouth.

Keitaro knew that Seta was merely teasing him, but Narusegawa was the last person he wanted to think about now. The whole plane ride, he couldn't get his mind of her. This time it was Keitaro's time to intervene.

"Oh, so you want to bring back memories eh Seta-san? Well what about the time Haruka-san and Narusegawa caught us in the hot springs while there were bathi..." Keitaro started. Seta looked fearful, announcing his defeat.

"Damn! You got me there part-timer. But at least I got a good look at Haruka's beautiful uh....you get the idea, ha ha ha," Seta said.

"_Ahh, the memories, How I got into Tokyo U, all the simple misunderstandings, Naru's sabotage of my innocent dates, and her silky succulent..."_

Keitaro's thoughts were interrupted as he attempted to keep the blood from flowing out of his nose. With practiced ease, he quickly wiped the blood away with a napkin. Seta looked at Keitaro with a panicked expression. Seta grabbed a hold of Keitaro.

"Part timer are you ok?! You should have told me about the nose thing. You can get bloody noses at these high levels of altitude!" Seta said laughing.

Keitaro quickly wiped himself clean of his blood and dirty thoughts.

"Yeah, high altitude that's it ha ha ha ha" Keitaro said, trying to cover up the truth.

_Attention passengers, we are now landing in San Diego, please fasten all safety belts and prepare for landing. _

"This is it part-timer, prepare to be amazed!" Seta said while quickly strapping in his safety belt.

Keitaro looked out the window of the plane. The entire San Diego skyline could be barely made out in the distance; it was engulfed with lights, hundreds of lights. Plus the building, maybe thousands of building, and skyscrapers could be seen.

Looking off into the darkened starry horizon; Keitaro sensed more architectural wonders out there, and so much more. Keitaro's eyes bulged with anticipation, so much to do, so little time. Through all this excitement and curiosity, an adventure was right around the corner. This is it.....America.

_Is it great? No part-timer....it's glorious, there is so much to do, so much to see, in fact you'll need about 10 lifetimes to see it all!_ Keitaro let out a small sigh of nervousness.

"Keitaro-kun, are you coming?" Seta said snapping Keitaro out of his trance.

"Yeah,"

San Diego California 9:20 P.M

Seta lit a cigarette and placed it into his mouth, releasing smoke that seem to float peacefully into the air. Keitaro was walking alongside Seta, still amazed at his surroundings. The Airport entrance was just ahead. Seta and Keitaro approached the entrance and walked inside. They both showed their passports to the service desk woman, and received the rest of their luggage.

Seta walked outside with Keitaro tagging behind acting like "Curious George."

"Taxi!" Seta exclaimed waving his hand in the air. Keitaro was snapped back into reality once more by Seta's remark.

"Nani?" Keitaro asked. Seta laughed as a yellow car screeched to a halt directly in front of them.

"Don't worry part timer, I'll help you learn English," Seta said laughing while opening the passenger door.

_English....oh boy, if only Narusegawa could have helped me with that before I left. I know a little English but not much. _

The duo got in the taxi. The driver was a middle aged man, with a mustache, dark hair, and dark eyes; he smiled with a humble like grin, but nonetheless, warm and friendly.

"Where to Mac?" The driver said, looking at Seta. Keitaro couldn't understand anything that the driver was saying. He was going to have to learn English and fast.

"1903 East Woodlake Drive," Seta said smiling.

"East Woodlake, eh? That's quite a ways from here, hope you got enough money dude," the driver said.

"Not to worry my man." Seta said with confidence.

The taxi veered off pulling into the right lane, speeding hastily down the road. Keitaro nearly had a heart attack, but soon remembered that Americans drive on the _Right_ side, not the left.

"Whew!" Keitaro exclaimed. "By the way where are we going,?" Seta looked out the window examining the place that was all too familiar to him.

"I have a friend that lives near the country side, we will be staying with him for our time here, and tomorrow we will visit the University Of California, and hopefully get our first assignment." Seta said.

"So how does this all work anyways, I mean the excavations and all," Keitaro asked. Seta quickly lit another cigarette, placing it in his mouth and inhaling deeply.

"Basically, there will be times where excavations are done together as a group....other times, you can go with an instructor, like me for instance. So we'll get to do a lot together, part-timer; and who knows? Maybe will hit it big!" Seta said laughing.

"Hit it big? You mean you've never found any major discoveries while being in America?" Keitaro had hit a sore spot on Seta. Seta sweat dropped.

"Ahem.....ah well, you see, it's easier to make discoveries on areas that haven't been touched, America has had quite a few discoveries, just not in my time."

"So how long do you think it will take me to learn English?" Keitaro asked. Seta laughed.

"Not long at all part-timer, you know a little English from your Tokyo U exams, but when I was taking the exams back then, we didn't have a very big English test at all, so that test came in handy for you. Since you took the test 3 times, you should have no problem learning English," Seta said laughing.

Keitaro felt as if a ten ton boulder landed on his head, at Seta's remark about the whole third year ronin thing. Seta took a puff of the last remnants of his cigarette then threw the rest out the window. He then quickly put the cigarette box away in the pocket of his lab coat.

"We're here folks, everyone out," The driver said screeching to a halt. Seta and Keitaro got out of the taxi with their luggage. Seta gave the driver the money.

"Thanks!" Seta said cheerfully.

"C'ya round Mac..." With that the driver was gone.

Seta turned around and could see Keitaro's shock. The building that was in front of them was a house, but no ordinary house. It was elegant, a thing a beauty. It wasn't as big as Hinata Sou, but it was pretty darn close. It looked as if the house was just recently built, along with a pool out front.

"_To think that it takes all of the girls plus myself to pay for the rent at Hinata Sou, and this one person is paying for this house alone?!" _Keitaro thought to himself.

Seta and Keitaro approached the house and Seta knocked on the door. It took a little while but a person finally opened the door. He was a middle aged man, looking to be about 30, he was dressed very similar to Seta, his face was very friendly looking, dark brown hair, and brown eyes, and about the same size at Seta, if not shorter. Not fat but not thin either, about in between, not to mention strikingly handsome.

"Seta!! My god it's been years!" the man exclaimed, rushing up to Seta and giving him a big hug. The man's voice was deep, but friendly none the less.

"Ha ha ha, it's good to see you Eric, how have you been," Seta said.

"Great just perfect, things couldn't be better!" Eric said beckoning his guests to come inside. As Keitaro entered the house, the first thing he saw was comfy looking furniture, and lots of pictures of landscapes, and artifacts that hung on the wall, and straight ahead to the right, appeared to be what looked like a kitchen. Keitaro's site seeing was interrupted by Eric.

"So this must be Keitaro-kun! I've heard a lot about you..." Eric said looking at Keitaro with a big friendly smile. Keitaro looked surprise, this Eric person was speaking in Japanese, so now Keitaro could understand him.

"Pleased to meet you Eric-san," Keitaro said shaking Eric's hand.

"Please Keitaro don't be so modest, Seta has told me so much about you before, I feel as if I already know you," Eric said. Keitaro smiled, this guy was very similar to Seta.

"Well part-timer you should go unpack, and get to know your way around this house!" Seta said laughing.

"Oh forgive my rudeness, Keitaro your room in on the 2nd floor, on the left." Eric said.

"Right, thanks," Keitaro said. Keitaro walked off into the opposite direction, down the hallway.

"So how is Haruka been lately, have you finally tied the knot yet? Heh heh" Eric said.

"Well uh.....you see....um," Seta started.

"Buha ha ha ha, Seta my old friend, you'll never change!" Eric said laughing hysterically.

Keitaro started down the hall way on the 1st floor, he turned to the left and opened a door to find, a bathroom. But no ordinary bathroom, it had a hot tub in there. Keitaro closed the door and examined the other room across from the one bathroom. It was Eric's room. He could easily tell from all the pictures on the wall.

Keitaro continued down the hall way and found the set of stairs, circular stairs that is. But there were still two other rooms that were there before the stairs. Keitaro opened the door to the room on the left, another bathroom?!

"Ugh, at least I never have to worry about someone occupying the bathroom!" Keitaro said at awe.

Keitaro checked the other room, it was almost empty except for the necessities of the room, dresser, bed, and a television, maybe this was going to be Seta's room?

Keitaro ascended the circular stairs, holding onto the rail and slowly walking up. The 2nd floor appeared to be a long hallway. But off to the side there were many rooms. Keitaro saw the first door off to his right, he opened the door and it was......_another bathroom?!_

Keitaro sweat dropped and fell to the ground. "Wow, Eric is....rich, bottom line,"

"Seta did you hear that?!" Eric said. He looked up to see the chandelier in the hall way sway to the left slightly.

"Hear what?" Seta said taking a sip of tea.

"Uh it must have been Erynn, she's been practicing recently," Eric said.

"How is Erynn, she was so young the last I saw her," Seta asked.

"She's fine, she grows more and more beautiful each day," Eric said sipping his tea.

Keitaro picked himself up slowly after falling on the floor of the 3rd bathroom. But there was something different about this bathroom, it seemed, more......feminine. Maybe it was for Eric's wife?

Keitaro looked across from where the bathroom was and saw a door; it was closed.

"This must be it, my room, ugh my luck it'll be another bathroom," Keitaro said smirking.

However, Keitaro had no idea what was really behind that door, no idea at all. Keitaro opened the door, it wasn't a bathroom that's for sure. What Keitaro saw instantly made his eyes bulge, and his jaw drop at least to the ground.

A girl.

But no ordinary girl, she stood there her back toward Keitaro, unaware that she was being watched. The only thing that covered her body was a silky white bra and panties, not to mention it was no ordinary pair of.....

_WAIT A MINUTE, HOW CAN I POSSIBLY HAVE TIME TO THINK ABOUT THIS!! _Keitaro said slamming the door.

The girl turned around after hearing the slamming of the door.

On the other side of the door, Keitaro shoved his fingers up his nose, preventing the blood from flowing freely, onto Eric's expensive fur like carpet. Keitaro shuddered in fear, fear for his life.

_Who....Who was that?!?_ Keitaro thought.

Keitaro quickly got up and was about to run away, but saw another door on the left, straight ahead.

_Oh thank god, that must be my real room_

Keitaro opened the door, at first everything inside seemed normal, no girl's undressing or anything like that, however the room was weird.

It looked like Su's room back home! It was a jungle like scene, there were tree like plants, and bushes, and lots of green. Keitaro's eyes searched around, seeing nothing but a sea of green. Suddenly something caught Keitaro eye....movement, coming from the bushes of green.

"What the.." Keitaro started.

From out of the bushes, an orangutan let out a yell and jolted toward Keitaro.

_HOLY SHIT!_ Keitaro felt as if he just slammed the door on the messenger of death. Keitaro wasn't taking any more chances.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!" Keitaro screamed while running blindly down the hallway.

To Be Continued.

Authors Note Hey folks, I'm really sorry about the delay about getting my chapters ready. I have one more part of month 1 and then I can move on to the next one.


	4. Abrasive Meetings

Keitaro's Return

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina

Month 1, (Final Part)

November

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!" Keitaro screamed while running down the hall blindly.

Suddenly Keitaro ran into something, whatever it was it sent him flying down to the ground. Keitaro landed on his butt, with a thud.

_Ow what the…._

Keitaro looked up and saw….it was the same girl that he had walked in on earlier. He looked up at her with a frightened expression. It didn't matter, she didn't look to happy, and he wasn't gonna stand for it anymore. Keitaro quickly got up and bowed.

"Gomen nasai!!" Keitaro screeched while running toward the the stairs. The only problem was, Keitaro ran so fast that by the time he had reached the stairs, he was still in a bowed position.

Keitaro smacked his head into the railing and went soaring down the stairs. The girl watched in embarrassment as she blushed slightly.

"_Sorry? What did he have to be sorry about?" _She thought to herself.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So Keitaro survived for 4 whole days without food?!" Eric asked in astonishment. Eric's eyes were wide with anticipation as he listened to Seta's story.

Seta inhaled on his cigarette a little and exhaled the fumes, Seta thought back a moment to Keitaro's adventure.

"Yep 4 days, I couldn't believe it myself when I found him on Paraku…errr…something island. But it was quite a feat when he found the lost turtle civilization. He really does have a knack for this archeology stuff," Seta said laughing.

"It'll really be a sight to see, I wonder what he's….," Eric started, but was interrupted to what sounded like a freight train rumbling down the stairs.

"Ow……bam, whack, splat ugh," Keitaro quickly got up even after falling down each individual step.

"Part-timer, what's wrong? Did you trip down the stairs, you know there's a hand rail, ha ha ha," Seta said laughing. Eric looked at the poor boy with confusion. Keitaro fell over as soon as he reached Seta and Eric's table in the living room.

"Big……….thing….and girl….what….is…" Keitaro stammered while his eyes were spinning in circles. Eric examined Keitaro closely, wondering what had happened.

"Easy Urashima….What happened to you, you look like you seen a ghost," Eric asked, helping the boy up. Keitaro panicked.

"Ba ba ba big, uh and girl, uh, oh," Suddenly Keitaro turned around and his jaw dropped, his worst fear was unraveling before his very eyes. The girl and the orangutan was standing there side by side about 5 feet off, watching Keitaro in amusement.

"Oho, Keitaro, this is my daughter Erynn," Eric then looked up at Erynn, "Erynn this is…." Eric started.

"We've already met it seems," Erynn said in Japanese. Although Keitaro could understand her, it still didn't change his situation.

Keitaro picked himself up and slowly regained his composure.

"_Maybe she doesn't know about….."_ Keitaro thought.

Now that Keitaro had a good look at her, with clothes on that is. She was decked out rather casually, shorts, a white shirt that had a fighter type person on the front.

She had fair sized breasts, black silky hair that came down to her lower back, and soft green eyes. She was slightly shorter than Keitaro. She gave Keitaro a questioned glance. She was quite beautiful, very stunning indeed, but Keitaro noticed something else.

She looked lonely, there was no mistaking it, it was the same look that Shinobu had when Keitaro saw pictures of her at and early age, minus the shyness. There was no mistaking it.

The orangutan stepped forward, observing Keitaro with a look of seriousness, basking in his scent casually. This orangutan looked to be timid, but Keitaro knew it would take some time to get used to this……thing. Eric stood up smiling.

"Jody, this is Keitaro, he's our guest," Eric said. Jody quickly acknowledged as if she understood what her master was saying. She quickly grabbed Keitaro hand and shook it with a gentle grip. Jody had a ribbon in her hair, and was about the same height as Seta.

"Uh…nice to meet you, Jody," Keitaro said. Jody smiled, and rubbed Keitaro on the head. Erynn stepped forward, first looking at Seta.

"Seta, always a pleasure," Erynn said. Seta smiled and with that, Erynn turned her eyes toward Keitaro.

"Nice to meet you," Erynn shook Keitaro's hand. The first thing that Keitaro noticed is that Erynn's grip was rather strong. Erynn continued.

"What were you so scared about? Your face didn't look natural," Erynn said, looking into Keitaro's eyes.

"NAKED?! UHH I mean, ahem," Keitaro searched himself for the right thing to say, "Gomei, I mean, it's nice to meet you, sorry about running into you early, just got a little scared," Keitaro finished.

Erynn's eyes were starting to make Keitaro shiver. Her eyes were kind and gentle, but at Keitaro's last statement, it looked as if Erynn was attempting to pierce through his soul with her eyes. Keitaro turned away.

"Uh Seta could you show me where my room is, I kinda, uh…" Keitaro said in fear.

"What's the matter Urashima? You didn't find your room? Then who's room were you in earlier?" Seta said laughing.

_Oh dear god, I'm going to die!!_

Keitaro quickly looked over and saw Erynn in a state of questioning looks, as if she was calculating a math problem. Erynn put two and two together and realized that since Keitaro walked into a room that wasn't his, and her door unexpectedly opened and slammed, she realized who the culprit was.

Keitaro shuddered in fear as he witnessed Erynn's brow begin to twitch with a certain annoyance. Keitaro knew that look all to well.

Erynn's eyes snapped open and she suddenly went flying through the air, foot forward aiming toward Keitaro's head at an incredible rate of speed.

"EEEEEEEEEE!!" Keitaro screeched, he did the only thing he could do. He jumped up high in the air and grabbed onto whatever he could.

Erynn's attack was halted as her attack headed straight for her father, instead of Keitaro; who disappeared. Eric gracefully caught her and smiled.

"I see you've been practicing," Eric said smiling. Erynn brushed herself off, as she was amazed that Keitaro managed to dodge her attack, but the fire in her eyes did not cease.

"Ah, nice form part-timer," Seta said looking up, Jody also began to clap at Keitaro's performance. Keitaro was hanging from the dinning room chandelier, and was not about to move.

Erynn began to taunt him.

"You pervert, it was you that walked in on me," Erynn said shaking her fist. Eric, Seta, and Jody watched in amusement. Keitaro almost saw the face of Motoko through Erynn's face.

"I'm really really sorry, I didn't mean to, I thought that it was my room, honest I did," Keitaro said swinging swiftly through the air on the chandelier.

"I'll make it up to you, honest, I'll do anything!" Keitaro begged. Erynn suddenly had a smile on her face. This surprised Keitaro because her smile was different from others he had seen. It looked as if Erynn's smile was unpracticed.

"Alright, fair enough, I've got something in mind, follow me." Erynn said. Erynn started down the hall way. Keitaro slowly released the chandelier and followed cautiously. Eric watched Keitaro go. Eric, Seta, and Jody smiled at one another.

"The boy definitely has his moments," Eric said, after Keitaro left. Seta looked puzzled.

"What do you mean Eric?"

"That's the first time I've seen Erynn smile like that in years," Eric said. Eric's face looked a bit depressed as he looked down at the ring that was around his finger. Despite Seta's lack of intelligence, Seta knew what caused Erynn's grief. He knew all too well.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Keitaro followed Erynn up the stairwell and down the 2nd floor hallway. She went passed her doorway, and the doorway of the Jody, and came to _another _door that was on the left.

"_This_ is your room," Erynn said in exasperation. Keitaro breathed a sigh of relief, but decided he was going to play around a bit.

"You sure? The last time I opened a door there was…." Keitaro instantly stopped his joking, as he saw Erynn give him a look of death. Keitaro quickly opened the door to his room and quickly ran in.

"Just kidding! I'll be good!" Keitaro said with a laugh. Erynn was not amused. Keitaro noticed that his room had elegant painting on the wall, paintings of atmospheres, one of them was a painting of an island. Off to the corner there was a closet, on the right to another corner was a Television. To Keitaro's shock he saw a bed off to the left, instead of a futon; Keitaro was just going to have to get used to these new changes.

"Urashima?" Erynn said looking at Keitaro with questioning; yet stern eyes.

Keitaro looked up and shyfully met Erynn's eyes. Her eyes were like a lonely ocean of dark green.

_She's kinda cute when she not trying to kill me_

"How did you dodge my attack back there?" Erynn asked. At that Keitaro instantly sweat dropped, and he was once again flooded by the memories of Hinata Sou. Keitaro instantly hit the floor at Erynn's question.

"It's along story," Keitaro said. Erynn starred at Keitaro with a certain animosity.

"I've got time," Erynn said.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So he's in love with her eh?" Eric said while reading his newspaper. Seta shook his head in agreement. He then pulled out another cigarette, from his lab coat.

"She was once my student, I was a private tutor. She's a good girl, the only problem is she won't give him a straight answer," Seta said lighting his cigarette. Eric smiled.

"Love is a very impatient game indeed, but if Keitaro has the patience in that department. Surely he'll have no problem at waiting for a discovery or two," Eric said. Eric and Seta were sitting in the living room; it had been a long time since Seta had talked to Eric.

"At any rate, have you given the boy any advice?" Eric said putting his newspaper down. Seta scratched his head.

"Advice? Advice for what?" Seta said while puffing his cigarette. Eric let out a sigh of frustration.

"_That's why Haruka left you Seta, because you really don't know what love is about." _Eric thought to himself.

"Never mind," Eric said crossing his arms.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"What?! You were a manager of an all girls dormitory?!" Erynn said in utter disbelief. Erynn searched his Keitaro's eyes for any sign of fabrication, but all she found was truthfulness.

"I got beat up almost every day, my only option was to run away, or dodge most of their attacks," Keitaro said looking a bit beat as he brought back the memories of his greatest fears.

"Without any martial arts you managed to dodge that attack, unbelievable, it must have been dumb luck," Erynn said in a taunting matter. Keitaro sulked a little at that comment; it wasn't his fault that he was beat up; well maybe a little.

Keitaro sat there on the floor trying to figure out what Erynn was trying to do. Erynn arose from the chair and walked over to the window, now looking outside, her back now turned toward Keitaro.

"Hey Erynn, why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" Keitaro said looking toward her direction. Keitaro blushed a little as he noticed, for a girl; she had very well built legs. Keitaro's stare continued upward until his eyes fixated upon the one part of the body he wished he didn't see, although it was nice. Keitaro quickly turned away before Erynn turned around. Erynn walked toward the door.

"……There's nothing special about me, so don't worry yourself," Erynn said in a cold state. With that Erynn opened the door. Keitaro wasn't finished yet.

"So that's all?! You just wanted to know more about me, so now I'm off the hook?" Keitaro said sounding hopeful. Erynn quickly turned around, giving a look of deviousness.

"You're not getting of that easily Keitaro, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and you're going to help me cook, since my father never helps me," Erynn said. Keitaro fell off the bed.

"What?! Cook?! I can't cook!" Keitaro said giving a look of ambivalence. Erynn turned her back on Keitaro.

"Don't worry, we'll improvise, I'll expect you to help me after you get back from the university," Erynn said finally. With that, Erynn closed the door; leaving Keitaro alone. Keitaro appeared to be in a state of pure ignorance.

"What's with her, she's seems so cold." Keitaro said. Keitaro got off his bed and quickly unpacked the stuff from his bag. His clothes he put neatly in the dresser drawer, the money he kept in an envelope he put that on the dresser as well. Keitaro rummaged through his bag, and realized…..he was missing the most crucial part of everything he had brought, his sticker photo collection. Keitaro felt sadness quickly overwhelm him, but he soon recollected his composure because he knew that all hope was not lost. Keitaro pulled a picture frame out of his bag, and placed it on the dresser. It was a picture of Narusegawa; he had taken it while she had fallen asleep during her studies. Keitaro knew if she ever saw this photo, she would surely kill him.

Keitaro stared at the picture for a little while and felt his body slowly succumb to the factor of sleep.

The Next Morning, 10:00 A.M

Keitaro was sound asleep; the morning light was barely visible because it had been raining that morning. The door to Keitaro's room slowly opened on its own, and on the other side of the door a silhouette figure could be seen.

Keitaro slowly woke up and the figure grew closer to him. Keitaro nearly fell off his bed as he slowly saw a man, his head was bleeding and his smile couldn't be bigger. Keitaro rose from his bed with a hint of discontent, and fear.

"SETA! Don't scare me like that! Why the heck is your head bleeding did you get into another car accident or something?" Keitaro said screeching. Seta laughed and wiped the blood away.

"Ha, while I can't lie, I must admit that I accidentally walked in on Erynn, and you get the rest," Seta said laughing. Keitaro smirked slightly, he noticed that Seta was "buffed" up a bit, his muscles were slightly bulging. Seta knew what Keitaro was thinking.

"In case you don't know, Eric has a weight room here, so I can work out every morning." Seta said. Keitaro was in shock.

_Yep rich….aha, at least it's not a bathroom!_

"That reminds me, we need to go to the university in an hour, so you need to get ready," Seta said turning to walk out the door. Keitaro quickly arose after being woken up by a certain someone.

Keitaro left his room, after making the bed that he had a hard time sleeping on. It was not like Japan, where futon's were more comfortable. Keitaro walked downstairs and opened the door to bathroom number 1, it was better than having the possibility of Erynn being in the 2nd floor bathroom. He quickly showered, then dried his hair. He covered himself up with a towel and walked up stairs to his room. He quickly slipped on his clothes, his normal black hoody that hadn't worn for a while, and some pants.

"Time to get going," Keitaro said.

Running down the stairs, Keitaro met Seta at the front door.

"Ready to go part-timer? You're going to meet Mr. Jones, professor of the University of California Archeology study." Seta said while pulling out another cigarette. As Keitaro was about to follow Seta, he felt as if he was being watched. Keitaro turned toward the kitchen, and saw Erynn, he knew exactly what she was thinking.

_If you forget to help me this afternoon, you're a dead man!!_

Keitaro slightly gulped, and turned away, following Seta.

Seta walked outside and opened the door to one of Eric's cars. It was a black corvette, the exact year of it was unknown to Keitaro. Keitaro had seen many different varieties of cars that the Americans drive.

Seta and Keitaro quickly got into the car, and was off. Heading for the University. Unfortunately for Keitaro, he had totally forgotten about Seta's crazed Grand Theft Auto like moments.

_Seta is hitting 95 in a freaking country road area! Holy SHIT!!. _

By the time Keitaro had thought the last sentence, Seta had already missed 3 stop signs and 4 cars. Seta was already in the San Diego city area, where if he wasn't careful, Keitaro guessed that the military or the cops would be after him.

"Ha ha ha! What fun part-timer!" Seta said swerving and barely missing traffic. Obviously Seta forgot that they weren't in Japan, and the left side of the road wasn't the best place to be. Oncoming traffic were honking and veering off the road in order to dodge this driver teacher reject. Seta dropped his cigarette on the floor next to the accelerator.

"Damn!!" Seta exclaimed, he reached down trying to retrieve his last smoke. With Seta's eyes off the road, the corvette was now a moving target. Not just any moving target, a moving target that was hitting 105 and heading straight for a semi.

The semi blared it's loud horn.

_HOLY SHIT!!!!_

Keitaro quickly grabbed the wheel and dodged the semi with seconds to spare, with that Keitaro veered back onto the right side of the road, he quickly looked down at Seta.

"Dammit Seta! Watch the road!!" Keitaro saw that Seta was still looking for his lost cigarette. Keitaro looked up at the road; and saw….

_Oh damn….why me?!_

Keitaro was at the end of a draw bridge that was suspended in the air, in order to let a boat through. Keitaro hit the end and flew through the air.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" Keitaro screamed, he couldn't take it anymore, he closed his eyes and expected death to come for him. The corvette hit rock-bottom and rolled about 7 times before coming to a complete stop; being stopped completely by a parking block. The corvette had parked itself perfectly after it's apparent lift off.

"Ah found it, this is my last cigarette too!" Seta quickly picked it up off the floor and stuck it in his mouth; blood streaming down his face.

"Aha ha ha that was fun, wasn't it Keitaro-kun! Keitaro-kun?" Seta looked around but Keitaro was already headed inside of the university. Words could not possibly describe the fear and the blessing of being alive right now; and to think that he drives that way _all_ the time!

Keitaro brushed off the thoughts of his near death experience and walked in the University. It was huge! The place was empty since everyone was on Thanksgiving vacation. Keitaro looked around and saw a door, on it the word "Mr. Jones" could be seen in English text. Since Keitaro knew a little English, he pieced together what the words meant He deciphered that the words on the door, was the name of the person he needed to see. Keitaro knocked on the door and there was a response.

"Yes?" The man from the other side said. Keitaro opened the door, a man was sitting in his chair, back toward Keitaro. Keitaro attempted to use his English.

"…..M..is.ter..Jon…es?" Keitaro said trying to get the words out. The man turned his chair now facing Keitaro. It was none other that Eric! Eric was the professor of the University of California's archeology program?

"Eric-san?! But I…." Keitaro said in surprise, switching back to Japanese.

"Please don't be so formal, just call me Eric. I forgot to tell you that I was a professor here, I'm sure it's quite a shock indeed." Eric said laughing.

Keitaro took a seat that was located in front of Eric's desk. Mr. Eric Jones smiled.

"You know why you're here, so let's get to it. You're first excavation will take place on the 12th of December, your instructor will be Seta, you will be alone on this one. For the next week I want you to study your English, you'll definitely need it," Eric said handing Keitaro a study book.

"Check with Seta on where your going, it's his decision. Keitaro you must remember that even thought there's the possibility you won't find anything on your first excavation. Even if you don't you must be patient, life is full of let-downs, and so is the same for archeology. Never forget this." Eric said observing his papers.

"I understand, will you be coming with us?" Keitaro asked. Eric shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, I've been summoned on the 12th to a conference meeting in Sacramento, so you're on your own until I get back. That is all for now, I will keep you posted, oh and one more thing," Eric said with sternness.

Eric looked Keitaro straight in the eye.

"Whatever you do, under any circumstances, do _not_ let your guard down. When Seta and I were excavating overseas, we found quite a treasure you see, it was a lost artifact that was major evidence of the existence of a civilization that existed long ago. You see, after our discovery of this item, Seta and I were chased down by some group, it might have been terrorists, or some secret agency. I don't know, but they could be anywhere! Never let your guard down Urashima."

"Ok gotcha…Thank you for your time," Keitaro said bowing. Keitaro was about to walk out the door when he suddenly fell to the ground.

"Keitaro are you ok?!" Eric asked. Keitaro slowly got you please drive me and Seta home??!" Keitaro said with a look of fear. Eric laughed hysterically. Eric got up and placed his hand on Keitaro's shoulder, guiding him outside. Keitaro felt safe now that there was a responsible driver, instead of one that was released from the psycho ward.

"You know, I want to thank you," Eric said sincerely. Keitaro looked up at Eric, looking surprised; Keitaro spoke.

"Why?"

"You made Erynn smile last night, even if it was an evil one," Eric said smiling. Keitaro looked forward, his mind was in a state of confusion.

_What's with her, why does she look so lonely? What happened to her?_

"Part-timer are you coming?" Seta said interrupting Keitaro's thinking. Keitaro got in the car, and Eric drove back home.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"You're late." Erynn said to Keitaro as he came through the door, with Seta and Eric. "I finished dinner and you didn't get to help at all!" Erynn said. Erynn gave Keitaro the look again. Keitaro got on his knees and begged.

"No please don't kill me!" Keitaro screeched. Erynn looked at the loathsome person that was bowing before her.

"Fine, but you owe me one, and I mean at anytime I need your help," Erynn said. Keitaro quickly got up.

"Thank you," Keitaro said with appreciation. Jody was already at the table, she looked ready to eat, and so did everyone else.

"Let's eat." Eric said breaking the silence.

To Be Continued.

Authors Note: I Know I've said this before, but sorry again for the wait, I'm planning out everything as I go. Month 2 coming up ASAP. So hang tight and bear with me. To my few fans, thank you for your reviews.


	5. To Find Ones Own

Keitaro Return

Chapter 5

Month 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina.

December (Part 1)

December 25th 12:00 A.M

"_Erynn is obviously mad at me again, since she hasn't talked to me yet_," Keitaro thought to himself.

Keitaro lie up in his room studying his English book, it had been several weeks, and so much had happened in a short amount of time, he learned more about Erynn than he could possibly imagine, and his expedition was none the less extravagant. Keitaro's thought process quickly sprung back to reality as he remembered something very important.

His journal, he had forgotten to write in his journal. The month of December was almost up, and Keitaro decided he would write in his journal at the end of each month. Keitaro quickly opened his journal and began writing. He decided he would start at the beginning of the month………..

_Since Seta had begun his routine workout, it was time for me to get a little action. _

Flashback, December 11th

198….199….200! Keitaro counted out in his mind as he raised himself up for the last sit up before collapsing and trying to catch his breath. Keitaro took Seta's advice and began working out every morning around 9 in the morning, to enhance his strength since he knew that archeology was going to require every ounce of strength for all that digging.

Tomorrow he would jog the streets to San Diego and back to Eric's, which would take him about 2 hours. Currently Seta was out jogging his morning run. Keitaro slowly got up as the muscles in his abdomen kicked in. Keitaro wiped himself off and slowly got up onto his feet.

It had been a little over two weeks and a half since he had started to stay with his new family, and he found out several other interesting things about Eric's house. The weight room that Keitaro was in currently was right across from Jody's room. Next to this room on the right was a sauna! It must be nice being rich, the sauna was nice, but it was nothing compared to a hot spring.

Also on the right side of the sauna was yet another room, it was the recreation room. It had a pool table, along with a weird game called, "fuse ball." Also there was a television, and several paintings on the wall. Turns out, when Eric isn't running around on excavations, he's also a painter; he's quite good at it. Keitaro turned the lights out to the weight room and walked down the hall to the sauna.

He opened the door and was instantly hit by the wave of hot, steaming air. Closing the door, Keitaro took a seat, closed his eyes and concentrated. Seta had taught Keitaro a little of the art of meditation, and action that clears your mind and soul. The art that teaches you discipline and allows you to become one with your mind. Seta promised to teach Keitaro more, after his first excavation.

Soon Keitaro's mind was completely empty, he heard nothing, saw nothing, and thought nothing. It was the feeling of complete awareness of one's feelings. Keitaro sat there for what seemed like forever, he couldn't even feel the hot steam relax his battered muscles. Sweat rolled down his body as the heat in the room got even hotter. Something jarred Keitaro's nerves, he heard the sound of growling, and it didn't sound friendly.

Unfortunately for Keitaro, his point of view was not head level, but more mid ranged. So when Keitaro opened his eyes, he saw something that he wished he didn't see, well... maybe he did wish for them. Regardless, he was a dead man.

Breasts?!

"_Oh boy, I wonder who these belong to?_" Keitaro thought to himself. Starting from breasts, to chest, to throat, Keitaro eyes made there way up. Erynn didn't look to happy.

"Well hello Erynn, what a nice day it is, I think I'll be leaving now." Keitaro tried to get by, acting as if he didn't notice that Erynn was naked, but it didn't work. The next thing Keitaro felt was being hit from behind, ricocheting off the wall, then flying out of the sauna room and slamming into his own door.

On the ground he sighed and began to think.

"_This is the 9th time I've walked in on her, I must be cursed." _Keitaro thought to himself. The door to Keitaro's door opened and revealed Jody standing there, for some reason Jody liked to hang out in Keitaro's room every now and then. He couldn't understand why.

"Jody, could you give me a hand?" Keitaro asked smiling. Jody smiled and helped Keitaro to his feet.

Keitaro quickly brushed himself off, and smiled to Jody for her act of kindness.

Keitaro had been staying at Eric's for more than two and a half weeks now, and he still couldn't get used to Erynn's cold hearted attitude. Colder than Narusegawa, more than Motoko. It was worse than being taunted by the girls back home. Erynn was doing something much worse; she was ignoring him, and shutting the window of her soul tightly. Something was wrong.

"Dammit that one hurt," Keitaro said rubbing his back. Keitaro decided that it was best if he didn't go back in the sauna.

_Maybe a shower will suffice for now. At least until Seta gets back_.

Keitaro walked down the hall and opened the door to the 3rd bathroom. Unfortunately for him lady luck was not on his side again. Keitaro's point of view always finds the most interesting things first hand. Keitaro's eyes bulged.

Pink panties, wrapped around the legs of a female. Whoever this female was obviously nature had called for her. Keitaro wouldn't even dare think about looking exactly 3 degrees upward. Keitaro instantly looked up....it was Erynn.

"Erynn?! What the?! How did?!" Keitaro squawked. Wasn't Erynn still in the sauna, how could she get past him in the hall way without seeing. Erynn clenched a fist while her other hand was covering up her most vital part. Erynn's fist began to glow a strange aura. Keitaro drew back in utter fear.

"_Oh damn why me?" _

Keitaro flew back through the hallway and landed through Erynn's doorway into her room. The territory of the lion's den, Keitaro winced in pain, whileslowly opening his eyes. Through Keitaro's upside down point of view the first thing Keitaro saw was Erynn's night stand that was next to her bed. There was a picture on the top of the dresser; he could make out four people in the picture. Jody was in it, so was Eric, and there was a young girl in it too. Before Keitaro could see the last person that was in the picture, he saw the angel of death lay hovering above his very presence. Erynn grimaced.

"5 Seconds Keitaro….." She said very clearly, Keitaro got the cue to get up and run away, very fast like.

Keitaro almost tripped when he went running downthe stairs as fast as possible. Keitaro sighed a breath of relief once he reached downstairs.

"What was that picture?" Keitaro said in question. More importantly, 3 weeks, 3 freaking weeks and Erynn wouldn't give Keitaro even a simple conversation with him. It's as if she was born stuck up, or she was just the type that won't talk to anyone. It seems not even her father. Keitaro tried to shake off his thoughts for now and take a shower, he wasn't taking anymore risks. Keitaro picked up the mop that was near the 1st bathroom, and opened the door to the bathroom quickly then without looking in the door. He carefully guided the mop through the doorway, to see if anything would grab at it.

Suddenly something grabbed the mop from inside the door.

"_Oh god how?" _Keitaro thought and was about to run, but then saw who was on the other end of the mop.

Seta smiled.

"What's the matter part-timer? Your not at Hinata Sou anymore so you don't have to mop or clean anything up! Ha ha ha ha!" Seta said laughing.

Keitaro fell to the ground at Seta's comment. Keitaro lay on the ground twitching in fear that it could have been Erynn on the other end of that mop. Seta placed the mop down and helped Keitaro to his feet.

"So Urashima, before you take a shower, how about a nice jog?" Seta said tilting his head. Keitaro looked up at Seta.

"Didn't you already take one?" Keitaro asked in question. Seta looked toward the stairwell.

"Yeah but it's such a nice day, I thought, why not?" Seta said still looking toward the stairwell. Keitaro smiled.

"_This is my chance to get some info from Seta_" Keitaro thought to himself.

"Ok let me go get some sweats on," Keitaro said turning the other way without looking. Unfortunately, Keitaro tripped over the mop, andfell flat on his back, however there was one problem. Normally when someone looks up they see a ceiling or the sky, why was Keitaro seeing panties?

Erynn stood directly above Keitaro, wearing a mini skirt; she looked at Seta with a normal expression.

"Let me guess," Erynn said looking skeptical. Erynn looked down to find blood oozing through Keitaro's nose as he tried not to grin. Keitaro closed his eyes, and waited for the inevitable. It came and Keitaro went flying down the living room, out the front door and went airborne.

"WAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" Keitaro screamed as he landed into the Eric's pool. Seta came outside smiling.

"Well part-timer looks like you already got your shower for today, ha ha ha ha!" Seta said laughing again. Keitaro kept his head above water long enough to give Seta a look of discontent.

An hour had passed already and Keitaro was getting tired, he was in good condition before, but ever since he broke his leg at the Toudai Ceremony; he just wasn't as fast. Seta seemed unphased by his 2nd run today. He had ran from terrorists, renegade archeologists, secret governments and societies in so many explorations. Of course Seta wouldn't have it any other way.

Keitaro tried to keep his stride up with Seta. Since Seta was taller, this was quite a feat; indeed.

Seta and Keitaro hit a straight a way, that lead back to Eric's house. Many questions arose in Keitaro's head; they were the same questions he'dbeencontemplatingfor weeks. It was no surprise that Erynn had abused him for his accidental walk-ins. But she was so cold, even before hand; she wouldn't talk to her dad, or Seta. The only living thing she seemed to show compassion to is Jody. She seemed like a crude version of Motoko, except Motoko would at least give him a word in edge wise....er somewhat!

Seta caught Keitaro's expression and quickly broke Keitaro's train of thought.

"I know what your thinking, it's been bugging you for a while hasn't it Keitaro-kun?" Seta said slowing down slightly so Keitaro could keep up. Keitaro was now able to slow down to an easy jog. Keitaro couldn't think of any nice way to ask.

_"I'll make it up to you, honest, I'll do anything!" Keitaro begged. Erynn suddenly had a smile on her face._

"_That smile," _Keitaro thought to himself.

"Don't blame her part-timer, she's been through enough," Seta said now switching to a rarely seen serious look. Keitaro looked at Seta who had now stopped running completely. Keitaro also ceased his running. Seta looked down with a saddened expression, the look that Seta gives when he's rejected by Haruka.

"It was a while back, you see, Erynn moved to Kyoto at the age of 5, that's how she knows Japanese so well, before they lived in the States" Seta said looking at Keitaro in all seriousness. Seta continued.

"During the time, Eric was a wondering globetrotter just like me; he would rarely be at home. The only person that could take care of Erynn at her current age; was Laura Jones, Erynn's mother." Seta paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"I was on an excavation with Eric many times with Haruka along. It was fun, but Eric would always worry about leaving his wife and daughter alone. He loved them both very much. Erynn learned everything from her mother, how to cook, how to fight, how to love, and how to be a woman." Seta said trying to get all the words out.

"When Erynn was 16 they moved back to America, and Eric accepted the job as Head Professor, for the University Of California's Archeology Program. Jody came along around this time. By this time Erynn had put all of her feelings into her mother, she resented her father for leaving them alone." Seta turned away, Keitaro had never seen Seta in this state of mood.

"Laura was very frail, the history of her family had heart problems, but none the less she kept smiling. Erynn loved her mother; perhaps even more than her father. When Eric and I were in central Europe that day………Eric got a call, Laura had died."

There was silence; Keitaro could not believe his ears. Seta stood there back turned toward Keitaro.

"The doctors confirmed it; she had died of a heart attack. It happened three years ago," Seta paused for a bit.

"I too, had lost someone I loved, but I was not as affected as she was. Erynn was devastated, she cursed her father. For she believed it was his fault. She believed if there was someone to blame, it would be the person that was never around to love her. Thus, she also blamed me for asking Eric to come along to the excavation, and indirectly, wants nothing to do with people like me. So she's ignoring you as well part-timer,"

Keitaro stood there in shock, not knowing what to say, or do. He felt like crying, in every situation that he had been in he always struck last, friends, love, Toudai, everything. Even his promised girl seemed out of his reach. Keitaro had always thought his life was nothing but a burden. But Erynn, she had lost something more, she had lost her mother, all contacts with her father, and her life was forever altered. He felt sorry for her; he wanted to tell her that too. But Keitaro knew she wouldn't listen.

"_Why…..I'm so sorry Erynn_," Keitaro looked down, he was overwhelmed by sadness, he couldn't even comprehend the loss of a parent, let alone best friend.

"Seta, I….I…Sorry, I…didn't," Keitaro stammered a bit, Seta turned around and returned to normal, smiling slightly.

"It's ok Keitaro-kun, now you know, just try your best to be nice to Erynn, I know it's hard, but you somehow manage at Hinata Sou, so please Keitaro," Seta said placing his hand on Keitaro's shoulder.

"Don't worry," Keitaro said. The two smiled and began their run again, heading back home.

"It's about lunch time anyway," Seta said.

"Did you enjoy your workout Seta?" Eric said to Seta while keeping his eyes focused on Keitaro. Seta grinned.

"Couldn't be better, Part-timer here is faster than I thought, with some training he'll do just fine," Seta said smirking. Keitaro smelled a very weird aroma in the air.

"Oho, good thing your back, lunch is ready!" Eric said. Eric guided Seta and Keitaro over to the table. Erynn sat at the table hands folded in her lap, still equipped with the emotionless stare. Even thought Keitaro felt sorry for her, his mind was on something else.

"_What in the world?!"_ Keitaro stammered quietly in his thoughts.

Lunch _was_ indeed ready, however to Keitaro; this object didn't seem like lunch. The box was opened and steam emitted from the circular object that lie in the box. It appeared to be food.

"Keitaro, were out of rice and Asian based foods, so this is what I could muster for now," Eric said smiling. Keitaro winced.

_Now I remember! This is what Americans call, P..i.z..z..a, or however It's pronounced._

Seta chuckled, "Ahhh Pizza! It's been a long time since I've had this!" Seta turned and was able to catch Keitaro's stare of utter discontent. Seta looked back at Eric. Eric caught Seta's glance and realized he should have warned Keitaro about the sudden lunch arrangement.

"Keitaro," Eric said placing his hands on Keitaro's shoulder, "I know this isn't something you're used to, but it's really good, and give it a try, you never know," Eric said smiling. Keitaro sat down at the table, it was a square one, so unfortunately for him, he was sitting right next to the girl he had resented the most. But despite all of her anti social features, she was hurting inside. Keitaro would just have to get used to it.

Eric, Seta, and Erynn were already eating, Keitaro was going to have to get his share before it was too late. Keitaro grabbed a slice of the so called pizza. Keitaro examined the slice of food. It was your average, everyday pizza, cheese, sauce, and several pepperoni's, and hardened bread at the end. Keitaro took a hesitant bite of the slice of pizza. Using his hands as utensils; To Keitaro this seemed rude.

The taste slowly kicked in and Keitaro was satisfied.

"Mmmm. Not bad…." Keitaro said looking toward Eric. Eric smiled, "See, what did I tell you?" Eric said smiling. Keitaro grabbed another piece and began to chow down. He slightly noticed that Erynn was eating with her eyes closed, ignoring everyone around her, not even caring that she was sitting near Keitaro. There was a unusual silence in the air.

Seta also saw this too. So he tried to break the jagged silence.

"Tomorrow," Seta started, "We will leave at seven to catch a plane to Brawley, with is just outside of the Californian Imperial Valley. There is a cave that is just a little ways into the Valley," Seta said looking at Keitaro. Keitaro returned Seta's stare.

"Digging up stuff I suppose?" Keitaro asked, finishing his 3rd slice. Seta smiled.

"A little bit, we'll spend the day there, and then head back, the cave is under the jurisdiction of the San Diego University Of California. Eric believes there could be artifacts there, or maybe something else." Seta finished.

"Something….else?" Keitaro questioned. Eric took a sip of soda.

"Skeletal remnants," Eric said showing a promising grin. "Let's hope I'm right,"

Keitaro was excited by this, real excavation, a real adventure. This is whathewanted. This was the whole reason he and Seta left. Keitaro was so into what Eric just said, that he grabbed another piece of pizza without looking. However, Keitaro's hand came across something else. Keitaro looked in fear.

Erynn's hand was preoccupied in a attempt to _also_ grab the last piece of pizza, both Keitaro and Erynn's hand lay ceremoniously on top of one another. Keitaro looked up at Erynn expecting her to be mad. Erynn quickly jerked her hand away, giving a quick lookof vexation, before turning away, eyes closed. Keitaro was saddened by this.

Through Erynn's eyes, there was darkness, her eyes were closed. Suddenly she heard a noise, the noise of someone walking away. She opened her eyes to find the last slice of pizza on her plate, and Keitaro was already gone. Erynn looked as Keitaro headed down the hallway. Eric and Seta both smiled at each other.

Erynn blushed slightly as she took a bite. Eric smiled.

_Like I said before, the boy definitely has his moments. _

8:00 P.M

That Same Night.

Keitaro lay in his room, reading his English book intently, he still hadn't made any contact with anyone who could only speak English. He checked over his answers again, and even without someone like Narusegawa's help, he was doing relatively well. He smiled, as he almost got all the answers right. The book came in handy, and at the end of every chapter was a self test. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Keitaro looked up from his bed.

"Come in," Keitaro replied.

Seta walked in carrying a huge bag, it was a backpack. Seta strolled over to Keitaro's bed.

"Got a present for you part-timer!" Seta said opening the bag. Inside, there was a spade, a long shovel, a pick axe, and some other tools, like a medical kit, and bottled water. Seta removed a box from the bag and opened it. Inside were brushes, and other items for removing dirt and grime, with delicate ease. Keitaro was amazed.

"Whoa, my very own excavation kit!" Keitaro got up from his bed. "Thanks Seta,"

Seta shook his head, inhaling the fumes from the cigarette, then exhaling slowly.

"Don't thank me, thank Eric," Seta said smiling.

Keitaro was in shock, Eric who Keitaro barely knew, was going out of his way for him. "Of course…." Seta interrupted.

"If anyone should be thanking anyone…..Eric should be thanking you," With that, Seta walked toward the door. Keitaro looked at him, in confusion. "Get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow," Seta said while opening the door. After Seta closed the door, Keitaro was in a state of confusion.

_Why thank me?_

Keitaro decided it wasn't worth the brain power to think why, so he left it at that. He lifted the bag up with two hands, it was quite cumbersome, and despite the fact that he had been working out; it was still heavy. He strapped the bag to his back, luckily he didn't lean back, but rather kept his posture forward. Satisfied, he unstrapped the bag and decided to pack his clothes, and money for the trip.

Keitaro examined his bag. Looking for his envelope full of money. There was only 102,728 yen inside; which was equivalent to about one thousand U.S dollars. Keitaro placed some of the money inside of his bag, along with some old clothes that he might need; along with his passport. Everything was set for tomorrow.

Keitaro walked outside of his room to the hallway to tell Seta goodnight when he saw a small light coming from Erynn's room. Keitaro peaked inside. Erynn was on her bed; lying there she covered her head with her pillow. On the floor was the same picture that was seen, this morning. Keitaro could hear sobbing coming from Erynn.

Erynn was crying, and there was nothing Keitaro could do, if she found out about Keitaro knowing the truth, he would be a dead man, he was just going to have to talk this matter over with Eric. He wanted nothing more than to open the door, and embrace Erynn, to tell her everything was going to be fine. Suddenly something was behind Keitaro.

Jody stood there smiling; she looked at Keitaro with curiosity and concern. Keitaro was about to run away, fearing that Jody would open the door and reveal Keitaro's presence. But Keitaro saw something. There was a look in Jody's eyes, the look was saying, "I'll take care of this," To Keitaro's surprise, Jody opened the door to Erynn's room, but she blocked Keitaro from sight, to avoid detection. Jody closed the door, and eventually Erynn's sobs subsided.

Keitaro lowered his head in sadness. He walked down the hall and went back to his room.

The echoes from the door closing was the only remaining sound that night, leaving the house of Eric Jones in another state of unremitting silence.

_Kei-Kun? _

Keitaro heard the voice of a girl, a female who sounded so familiar, it was like he heard her voice only yesterday. He looked up, clearly he knew who the girl was but her face was kind of hazy. Keitaro tried to speak but no words came out.

_I hear if two people who love each other go to Tokyo U, they'll live happily ever after!_

Keitaro tried to speak but still no words would come out, he tried to move, but he couldn't lift a finger.

Keitaro wanted to say something; anything.

_Kei-kun, let's go to Tokyo U together! _

Keitaro tried to reach out to the girl, tried to say "yes", but still nothing was happening. He felt like his body was numb, he tried to speak again, but it was hopeless.

_What's wrong Kei-kun, don't you want to go with me?_

Keitaro was screaming his mind, he wanted to say something so bad, but all he heard was the thoughts in his mind. Suddenly the girl started to disappear, "No wait!! Don't leave!" Keitaro screamed from his mind.

The girl looked saddened as she disappeared.

_Kei-kun, why did you leave me?_

At the last second, Keitaro had regained his right to move, but just as he was about out reach out. She was gone…..Out of site, Keitaro's hand only cut the air, and went through the sand castle that he had built. Alone; Keitaro cried, for the loss of his friend…..

Keitaro shot up from his bed, sweating immensely, he looked around the room Jody lay still a sleep near the end of his bed, lying comfortably on the floor. It was quiet, there was no sound to be heard, Keitaro looked over to the clock that lie on the dresser.

6:30 A.M

Keitaro slowly rested his head back onto his pillow, his eyes half awake, his eyes fixated upon the picture of Naru that he had left on his dresser. His mind was in a state of confusion.

"_Naru……was it really you_….?" Keitaro was about to close his eyes and allow himself more sleep, when suddenly Seta barged through the door.

"Part-timer! It's 6:30, our plane leaves from San Diego airport in 30 minutes, rise and shine, were late!," Seta said almost knocking the door from the hinges. Without thought of his nightmare, he arose from his bed. Grabbed his bags and flew downstairs.

"Quick Keitaro take a quick shower, and let's go, Eric is waiting for us," Seta said in paranoia. Keitaro quickly opened the door to the second bathroom, from Seta's point of view, Keitaro was in the bathroom at one moment; then came flying out of the bathroom the next. Erynn slammed the door. Keitaro's body was laying in a heap.

"Oh…..Hi…Erynn…ha…what silky curves…." Keitaro said in shock from the ricochet off the wall. Keitaro's eyes were spinning.

"On second thought, come on, we'll let you take a shower once you get there," Seta said dragging Keitaro, along with his bag, and Keitaro's bag.

Keitaro could barely comprehend what was happening to him, one minute, he was about to take his clothes off and take a shower; the next he witnessed the essence of all manhood, then he was in the living room, with a huge welt on his head. Keitaro quickly woke up from a trance, he was in Eric's car. Eric was speeding erratically.

"Eric-san, slow down, will you? Seta's driving is bad enough," Keitaro said, eyes still partially spinning.

Eric smiled, "Oho, your awake I see, well, who do you think taught Seta how to drive?!" Eric said slightly gloating.

Keitaro nearly fell over as Eric made a 55 mile per hour quick left hand turn, without breaking. They were at the airport in no time. Eric grabbed his things.

"Good luck Keitaro, I'd like to stay and chat but I have to catch the 7:05 flight to Sacramento, see you tomorrow night!" Eric said taking off in a sprint. Keitaro still wasn't fully awake yet. Seta placed his hand on Keitaro's shoulder, "We, need to hurry, we only have 5 minutes to make it to gate 501," Seta said giving Keitaro is ticket.

"Right, let's go,"

To Be Continued.

Authors Note: My sincere apologies for my time taken on this chapter.My Christmas break was none the less hectic. Oh well no excuses for me, I just hope you can forgive me, time to get started. The next chapter is part 2 of December, and it will be the last. Then It's off to January. To my reviewers, thank you so much for your reviews and support. Also an additional extra thanks to my pre reader, Dimitri Plabato , you rock.


	6. The Gift From The Heart

Keitaro's Return

Chapter 6

December

Month 2 (Final Part)

December 12th

15 Miles West of the Town of Brawley

Imperial Valley California.

Keitaro struck the hardened grounds again with the custom made pick axe that was given to him by Seta, along with other novelty archeology tools. Seta and Keitaro spent the whole day in this cave, digging, sweating, and breaking their backs in an attempt to find any traces of artifacts, along with Eric's accusation of skeletal remains. It was getting darker outside, so Seta switched on his lantern helmet. They had been going at it for 8 hours, taking occasional breaks every now and then.

Keitaro stopped for a bit to wipe more sweat off of his forehead, which only made it worse. He was covered with dirt all over his body, and so the sweat only made the dirt wet. Keitaro placed his pick axe down and slowly sat down, reaching for his canteen of water that was conveniently placed in his backpack. Seta sat his spade down on the ground as he watched Keitaro inhale deeply. Seta smiled as he stopped to pull out a cigarette, he then lit it and began inhaling its fumes. Eight hours it had been, and not one single artifact, not even one pot. Keitaro felt the frustration, but he was patient. The ground was cool and somewhat damp, the evening cool air made its way through the cavern, killing the flames on the torch's that illuminated the cave's wondrous features. Seta quickly turned his head light toward the torches.

He got up and lit the torches again, soon giving way to the familiar curves and features that the cave had to offer. Seta held out his hand to Keitaro, so that he could pick himself up.

"We should head back to town now part-timer, it's getting late, we have a plane to catch tomorrow morning" Seta said smiling. Keitaro grabbed for Seta's hand, as Seta pulled him up, Keitaro could feel every muscle ache in his arms and back; archeology wasn't easy.

Keitaro managed to let out a grin"Alright then," Keitaro picked up his pick axe and placed it in his bag, along with everything else, neatly organized. Keitaro walked out the cave, while Seta quickly blew out the torch flames. They loaded their stuff in the all terrain jeep that Seta had"borrowed." Honestly, any friend of Seta that allows him to borrow a vehicle obviously doesn't know Seta that well. But an act of kindness is always chivalrous, none the less. Seta and Keitaro got in the jeep, and they were off.

"Oh boy here we go again" Keitaro said. Keitaro closed his eyes and prayed that he would make it back to town safely. He didn't expect anything less of Seta, on their way here this morning; Seta had somehow cleared 3 giant crevices and nearly ramped every hillside he possibly could. "How in the world did Seta get his license" Keitaro thought to himself. Seta hit a ramp and went flying through the air, only to land on a bridge that was only there for people to cross the small river, no big deal or anything.

"Keitaro were you listening"

December 16th

San Diego California

Eric's House, 4 days later.

Keitaro sat there at the kitchen table eating his seasoned rice, ignoring Eric's first statement"Keitaro were you listening" Eric said again. Keitaro's thought process slowly came back to reality as he looked across the kitchen, finding Eric cooking something. Eric looked at Keitaro.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening, what were you saying" Keitaro said smiling. Eric slightly sweat dropped"How can he ignore me when I was talking about a very important subject" Eric wondered. He looked at the boy with curious eyes, wondering what exactly Keitaro was thinking about.

"I said" Eric sighed, then continued"Christmas is nine days away! You need to get your gifts, and like quickly" For Eric's experience, he knew that anytime during December and Christmas, was indeed hectic for the entire city of San Diego, people are always out shopping and things can get frustrating, it was like a 24/7 frenzy! Keitaro fell out of his seat with the rice bowl gracefully landing on his face. Keitaro sweatdropped.

"Crap! I totally forgot that Christmas was coming" Keitaro said slightly muffled with rice on his face, covered by a red bowl. Eric looked down at the boy with a look of worry. The Christmas decorations had been up in his house for a week now. Had Keitaro not noticed? Maybe all that studying and Erynn hitting him daily made his brain go over it's limits? Or maybe Keitaro's mind was... elsewhere perhaps. As Keitaro somehow devoured the rest of the rice they lay scattered on his face with nothing but his tongue, Keitaro then proceeded to remove the red bowl from his face, he nearly freaked out as Erynn passed by him, almost walking right on Keitaro. Erynn sat at the kitchen table as Eric gave her a bowl of rice. Keitaro then quickly picked up the red bowl along with his chopsticks. He then placed himself back at the table, examining Erynn through the corner of his eye. Keitaro was getting tired of this bitter silence, it was almost 4 weeks and Erynn barely said a word to Keitaro. It seemed that Erynn's definition of a "hello" was a swift kick to the head that would send Keitaro flying. Erynn noticed Keitaro's stealthy stare and looked at him directly. Keitaro quickly switched his eyes to his red bowl, blushing slightly.

"Say, Keitaro..." Erynn said quietly. Keitaro looked over at Erynn quickly, with a obvious look of surprise. "She's actually talking to me? Has the world come to an end" Keitaro said in his mind. Erynn saw Keitaro's look of skepticism. Erynn glared at Keitaro,

"What! Can I not talk to you, is it a crime or something" Erynn said in her defense, Keitaro quickly imputed.

"No no that's not it, I just wish you would talk to me more...that's all" Keitaro said trying to strike up a conversation. Keitaro felt somewhat honored, that Erynn was finally talking to him. None of the girls back home took this long to talk to him, when he first came to Hinata Sou; not even Narusegawa. "Well there was that incident with Shinobu, but, that was my fault" Keitaro thought to himself. At Keitaro's last statement, Erynn was surprised.

"What...do you want to talk about" Erynn said showing uncertainty. Keitaro smiled.

"Well...for starters...I want to know more about you" Keitaro said with sincerity. Erynn looked away, closing the window of her soul once again. Keitaro looked onward, his expression showing sadness. Eric continued to cook, not saying anything. Keitaro then looked at Erynn.

"Nevermind, What is it that you wanted" Keitaro said trying to change the subject of his curiosity. Erynn slightly grinned as she remembered what she was going to ask Keitaro in the first place. Keitaro looked at Erynn with a questioned glance.

"I was wondering if you would help me in my training today...if...you don't mind" Erynn said shyly, but firmly. Keitaro slightly sighed to himself.

"So that's it huh, she just wants to USE me in her training, well I suppose it's a start" Keitaro thought to himself. Erynn saw Keitaro was in a state of pondering, and became impatient, she assumed Keitaro would just say no any ways. She got up and was about to walk away. Keitaro quickly grabbed her hand, blushing slightly.

"Hey, ok, I'll help you today..." Keitaro said smiling. Erynn stopped walking as Keitaro grabbed her hand, and she didn't turn around until Keitaro released it. Erynn gave a very small smile, as if it was for herself.

Keitaro and Erynn walked to the front door, and went outside. Eric turned around and grabbed Keitaro's red bowl, he smiled slightly to himself.

"Thanks Keitaro" He said to himself.

Keitaro stood outside Eric's house near the front yard, he was wearing a padded forearm strap on his left forearm, and the padding was supplied toward the outside. Keitaro watched as Erynn tied her black hair into a bun. But Keitaro became even more worried, as Erynn pulled the hair away from her eyes. It was the eyes that scared Keitaro, her piercing eyes, they looked cold and lonely. Keitaro's quickly looked at the clothes Erynn was wearing, nothing more than a shirt, and a pair of sweat pants, with no shoes on. Keitaro's pervertedness quickly took over, He could see Erynn talking to him in his mind, she was saying"Yes Keitaro train with me, and I'll teach you all my secrets" Keitaro hunched over to prevent Erynn from seeing blood being emitted from his nose. Keitaro quickly cleaned himself, his nose that is.

"What am I thinking, Erynn isn't that kind of girl" Keitaro thought to himself slightly. Suddenly Keitaro found himself flying at an incredible rate of speed, toward, a tree.

"Blaarrrggghhh" Keitaro screamed but was then silenced as he hit the tree face first then slumped to the ground. Keitaro twitched slightly, looking as if rigor mortis had set in. Jody happened to be nearby as she watched her newly found friend, hit headfirst into the tree, she cocked her head to the side as she was obviously confused over Keitaro's disfigurement.

"Moron! You weren't paying attention" Erynn screamed. "This is going to be a long day..." Keitaro thought to himself as he picked himself up. Jody watched on as Keitaro walked toward Erynn. Erynn then explained what exactly she was practicing, and Keitaro then understood what he was supposed to do. So Keitaro went back to his position, holding his arm out to his side, close to his head, so that the padding was facing outward, Keitaro then proceeded to put all of his strength into absorbing Erynn's attack, so that this time he wouldn't go flying. Erynn was about 20 feet away, she rushed toward Keitaro; he gritted his teeth. Then as Erynn was 3 feet in front of Keitaro she jumped into the air, doing a complete 360 spin, with her foot outward halfway through the turn, she then hit the padding with the heel of her foot at she hit the 360. Keitaro moved his arm downward so that Erynn could return her foot around to her side, she then landed perfectly in front of Keitaro. Keitaro absorbed the attack the best he could, luckily his hand didn't hit himself in his head. An attack like that was meant to hit someone in the head, and HARD!

Erynn retreated back to her spot and performed this move several times, as if she needed to master it or something. To Keitaro the attack seemed mastered enough, it was a spin kick, no one would expect something like that from a girl. Keitaro watched again, as Erynn landed, he knew what was wrong with the move. She was jumping too early, she needed about another foot before she would jump, so that the heel would land perfectly against its target. If she landed the attack wrong, she could injure her own ankle.

Erynn prepared to engage in the attack once more, this time trying it from the left side instead of the right, Keitaro adjusted his arm to the left. As she jumped into the air, she had jumped to far, and was about to land ON Keitaro. Keitaro freaked out and caught her midway as she was about to fall to the ground, Keitaro stood there, Erynn in his arms, one hand supporting her upper body, the other on her legs. Keitaro quickly released Erynn almost as quickly as he caught her, for fear of her attempting retaliation for touching her. Keitaro turned away, hiding his beat red face. Erynn didn't know which she was surprised about, the fact that Keitaro had caught her, or that he had released her so fearfully.

With that Erynn was about to walk away, but Keitaro quickly said something.

"Gomei," Keitaro said still having his back turned toward her, his hand rubbing the back of his head. At the least bit, he expected her to hit him. Keitaro then turned around, Erynn was gone. Keitaro looked around to make sure she was gone, he then looked at his finger tips that had touched Erynn's legs earlier, he then giggled to himself.

Seta returned from the University early that night after teaching a archeology class, everyone was happy to see their old teacher once again. Seta arrived at Eric's house after carelessly running over the Eric's mailbox due to his lack of driving abilities.

"Damn nailed it again!" Seta said as he closed the door to the Corvette. He observed the mailbox, and attempted to fix the mailbox, after he was finished, the mailbox slightly resembled the leaning tower of Piza. Satisfied, Seta walked away from mailbox and went inside. Eric greeted him as he turned off the television.

From his room Keitaro was yet again reading his English book, he was becoming quite good at his English and he could complete sentences now. He could even carry on a simple conversation if he wanted to, the problem was speaking it fluently.

"Ah! Stupid stupid stupid!" Keitaro said smacking his head with his fists. Keitaro was studying too much, and there were more important things to think about! Christmas is only 8 days away tomorrow! Keitaro placed his book down, he knew what to get for Seta, and he also knew what he wanted to get for Jody, but that left Eric. Keitaro grimaced slightly as his thought process shifted to another individual. Then there was Erynn. Keitaro mind went blank.

"What in the world am I going to get her?" Keitaro said as his mind screamed out in utter denial. He had to figure something out and fast! Suddenly Keitaro's thoughts were interrupted as he heard a female voice calling for him.

"Oh God! It's Erynn! She's probably going to kill me for what I did this afternoon!" Keitaro said whispering. Keitaro ran around the room, waving his arms in the air; squawking like a chicken. Erynn opened the door to Keitaro's room, and looked around, it was empty, no Keitaro to be found. Erynn raised an eyebrow, "That's strange I thought I heard him in here." Erynn thought to herself. Keitaro sighed a breath of relief as he heard the door close. From the closet, it was dark.

"That was close," Keitaro said to himself, he then attempted to stand up to find a light fixture, but instead found his head making swift contact with something metal. Blood sprayed from his head as he quickly opened the door to find light, then suddenly something fell from the top of the shelf in the closet. It was a box, and it landed on Keitaro's head. Battered from his injuries, Keitaro lie there on the floor with the magical bandage that appeared on his forehead.

"What the hell!" Keitaro managed to say as he picked himself up. The box lay on the ground inside the closet, it looked as if it was a box filled with photo albums, Keitaro decided it wasn't it his best interest to go through other people's things, so he placed the box upright, and placed the materials back in the box. As Keitaro was putting the stuff back his hand came across an object he couldn't ignore. It was a picture, the same one that was in Erynn's room that he accidentally stumbled upon. Keitaro glanced at the people in the picture, he saw Jody, Eric, Seta, Erynn when she was younger and…..

It can't be…

The last person in the picture.

There was no mistaking it, she looked exactly like Erynn, the person that Erynn had lost, her whole life changed. Her future, everything, the one person that was withered from existence. It had turned Erynn's world upside down, the one person she loved the most. Laura.

She was beautiful just like Erynn, she had silky long black hair. Her face was like an angel, she looked heavenly, and then there were the eyes, she had green eyes. Laura had a smile that couldn't be described in words, in was a heart-warming smile. Keitaro freaked as someone opened the door. It was Eric.

"Eric….I uh…..the box fell and uh…." Keitaro said trying to explain the situation. Eric slightly looked over to see what exactly Keitaro had discovered. He made out a smile, but it was one without joy, it was an empty smile, because he knew what Keitaro had found. Eric gently grabbed the picture from Keitaro, his smile increased.

"As you may already know, this is my wife in this picture, I'm sure you already know the story," Eric said giving a blank stare, the same blank stare that resembled Erynn. Keitaro looked saddened.

"I'm sorry," Keitaro said. Eric shook his head.

"Nah, don't worry about it," Eric said handing the picture back to Keitaro. Keitaro observed the picture once again, this time looking at Laura more closely, that's when it hit Keitaro. What Keitaro saw in the picture made Keitaro realize something. He knew exactly what to get Erynn for Christmas!

"Eric, we need to talk," Keitaro said showing signs of excitement.

Eric couldn't believe his ears, what Keitaro had suggested stunned his brain beyond anything else he had ever heard. Keitaro told Eric exactly what he wanted to get Erynn for Christmas, it was a none the less expensive gift, and she would without a doubt love the gift. The only problem was, Eric knew where to get the gift, and it was beyond Keitaro's grasp.

"I have to get her that gift, she can't keep blaming you like this Eric-san," Keitaro said while sitting on his bed. Eric looked on trying to ignore Keitaro's last statement, but he knew that he and Erynn couldn't go through bitter silence forever, he was her father; and he had a job to do.

"I'll get the gift for you," Eric said as he smiled, but then continued, "But…. You must do something for me," Eric said finishing.

"Anything, just name it," Keitaro said. Eric smiled, because the task he had for Keitaro, was an easy task.

"1 day from tomorrow, the cave that you and Seta visited will no longer be ours to excavate, I have never been wrong about an accusation of excavations. You and Seta were there and found nothing. I'm eager to find something, anything, so will you assist me in the excavation…Keitaro?" Eric said smiling.

"I would have done it even if it wasn't for the gift, I was kind of disappointed to find nothing," Keitaro said grinning.

"Very well, we shall leave tomorrow," Eric said. Suddenly Keitaro's door opened quickly and someone spoke.

"Not without me your not!" Seta said smiling. Keitaro looked at Eric as he turned around to face Seta; he gazed at Seta's mischievous grin. Obviously Seta wasn't accepting failure either. Eric than turned to face Keitaro.

"It's settled, tomorrow we'll all go," Eric said finally.

Keitaro was _STILL_ studying his English textbook by 9:00 that same night! If he continued at this rate, he would get the language down by the end of the month.

"Ah who am I kidding, this is not easy!" Keitaro said clutching his head in an attempt to get all the information to sink into his head. He was excited that he would go back to the Imperial Valley tomorrow. Eric said that Keitaro's gift would cost around 200 American dollars, when Keitaro didn't know how much that was, Seta put in perspective how much that was in Yen. Keitaro was really in deep if Erynn didn't like the gift. Keitaro had given his money to Eric so that he could get the gift. 200 American dollars, which means that Keitaro would have to get a part-time job to get that money back. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Keitaro said, by now Keitaro was able to speak simple sentences in English. The door opened and the brown eyes of Keitaro met impassive green eyes. Keitaro nearly freaked when she opened the door. He stood there, he just knew that she was probably going to kill him for what happened early that afternoon. But, Erynn didn't come into Keitaro's room; she merely stuck her head through the door.

"Keitaro, thanks for uh…training with me today, it's not always that I get a "live" partner," Erynn said slightly breaking a smile. She had switched to the language that Keitaro was comfortable with. Keitaro was obviously surprised; he looked at her as he returned the smile. Her eyes showing some life back in them as he stared at her compassionately.

"Anytime…..would you like help when I get back from Brawley?" Keitaro asked showing a look of amusement. At that Erynn blushed slightly, which brought out the cute side of Erynn that Keitaro rarely saw. Erynn looked surprised, she usually knew when excavations were going to happen, but this one came unexpectedly to her. None the less she answered the curious Keitaro.

"…..sure…" She managed to spit out. With that Erynn closed the door and left, the smile on Keitaro's face did not cease even as she left. She was changing, slowly but surely, she was slowly opening herself to Keitaro, and the gift he had for her would surprise and exhilarate her. But hopefully Eric could get the gift within the 8 days remaining. From the other side of the door, Erynn walked back to her room, she was smiling as well.

9:42 A.M

December 17th

Flight 647

"_Attention passengers, flight 647 will be landing in Brawley very shortly fasten your seat belts and prepare for landing," _

The trio of archeologists were awakened from their deep sleep as the P.A system made its announcement. Keitaro yawned slightly as he rubbed his eyes, neither Eric nor Seta had gotten adequate sleep from the night before. Since Keitaro was up late last night studying, and Eric was busy packing his things until 11:00 last night along with Seta. They fastened their safety belts and prepared for landing.

Now outside, Keitaro looked around as he experienced Déjà vu from his previous encounter here 5 days ago. The sun was high in the sky and Keitaro could tell it was going to be a hot day. Seta looked around as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket. Eric looked around as if he was expecting someone. Keitaro stopped as he waited for Jake to show up. Jake had been one of Eric's friends that allowed Keitaro and Seta to borrow the Jeep from their last excavation. Keitaro could see Jake approaching now.

The all terrain jeep made a screeching halt in front of the trio of archeologists. The man inside was Jake, one of Eric's many friends. He was a short man, with blonde hair, and hazel eyes; at first glance he appears stoical and taciturn, but Keitaro knew that Jake was just as warm hearted as Seta; with a lot more common sense of course.

Eric, Seta, and Keitaro approached Jake. Jake's hazel eyes seemed to glow in the sun as he set his sights on Eric. His voice was soft and quiet.

"Eric, you realize that you're doing an excavation without the consent of the Board, correct? You know how those guys are back at San Diego?" Jake said looking skeptical.

"I'll take the risks Jake, I just need another visit here, that's all," Eric said reassuring his dubious acquaintance. Jake covered his eyes as if he was just now affected by the sun's bright light.

"What reason are you here again only after 5 days?" Jake said again questioning Eric's reasoning. Eric looked at Keitaro smiling, then looked back at Jake.

"It's a special reason," Eric said smiling again. Jake hopped out of the jeep and smiled as he saw Keitaro, but grimaced as he saw the oblivious as ever Seta.

"One last thing! Seta if you scrape the siding on that jeep again I'm gonna make you pay for it!" Jake said raising his voice to Seta. Seta grinned slightly.

"Um about that, you see there was…." Seta said trying to say something in his defense but found nothing. Jake quickly intervened trying not to hear Seta's wild excuses.

"Never mind! Just don't let it happen again," Jake said finishing with his brow twitching in frustration. Keitaro, Seta, and Eric placed their bags in the jeep and then got into the jeep. Eric decided it was best if he would drive this time around, to prevent further annoyance to Jake.

"Let's go," Eric say hitting the accelerator.

The cave echoed with the sound of the clanking emitting from the shovels from the 3 individuals, they were digging fast for they only had one day to find something; anything. For Keitaro it was an adventure and a favor for Erynn's sake. They had already been digging for 2 hours, and still nothing could be found. Keitaro felt frustrated, he began to dig harder, and much faster. Keitaro's spade hit the cold ground, digging up more and more dirt and tossing it in the corner along with the other dirt. Seta stopped for a moment as he pulled out a cigarette to smoke, afterwards he continued his digging. Eric stopped for a brief moment and wiped the sweat from his forehead, he was getting a little too old for this sort of thing. The cave was filled with the echoes of metal hitting earth, the sound making a rhythmic balance of sort. Eric was the first to break the silence.

"Keitaro I wanted to thank you," Eric said while picking up his pick axe. Keitaro stopped for a bit and looked Eric in confusion. Eric smiled, and it was one that was filled with gratitude and solace. Turning his back he struck the cold hardened ground with his axe. Keitaro turned around as well.

"What for?" Keitaro said while looking at the ground that had very little to offer in terms of artifacts. Eric smiled as he raised his axe high in the air, then hit the ground again.

"Ever since you came here, I think Erynn has seemed more…alive," Eric said trying to find the right words. Keitaro looked shocked at Eric words. Had Keitaro really altered Erynn's ways? If so, then perhaps there was hope for her after all. Keitaro took a drink from his canteen then continued.

"You don't need to thank me, I was merely…. um," Keitaro started, but he found his motives hard to understand. Why was he going through all this trouble just to be friendly with Erynn? Was it because he felt sorry for her? Perhaps he admired her for her looks? Or was it because she lost her mother? No….It was much more than that, Keitaro knew what it was like to be lonely. To go your whole life and only have one friend, and to be rejected by everyone around you. For what? Your looks, maybe your beliefs? Or maybe just the way you live? All Keitaro knew, is that he didn't want Erynn to go through the same thing he did. She should have friends, she should enjoy life, despite what you DON'T have.

Keitaro placed his canteen back into his bag as he continued to dig. 3 more hours passed for these drained individuals, after a break in between each hour. Keitaro was getting frustrated, but he had to remember in his mind who he was doing this for. That was the only thing that kept him going. Keitaro's mind hit a blank, trying not to think as he continued to dig, it was almost like an endless dance of striking, hitting, scooping, and throwing; over and over again. He then put down his axe and grabbed his shovel, the handle was wet from the sweat. The shovel hit the dirt again in the same pattern. But something was different, there was a noise. Everyone froze, out of the hundreds of clanking noises made by the shovels, this one was quieter, which meant Keitaro had found something. Eric and Seta ceased all movement, as Keitaro removed his shovel and saw white coloring against the rocks. Keitaro got excited as he quickly switched from the big artillery to the little brushes in his tool kit. He began to slowly brush away the excess dirt from around the object like Seta had taught him some time ago. Eric and Seta watched silently in anticipation, there eyes were curious as if they were about to open a present or something. Keitaro was so excited that his hands were shaking in utter excitement.

"Uh…guys a little help here?" Keitaro said nervously not wanting to damage whatever lie beneath the rubble. Seta and Eric quickly got their tools and began to help Keitaro slowly unravel what the dirt hid from their eyes. After about 15 minutes they could make out what they were digging, Eric became very excited. They had already unraveled half of the form, it was a skeleton!

"I knew it! I was right all along!" Eric shouted. Seta smiled.

"I expected nothing less of Keitaro-kun, he has a knack for this sorta thing," Seta said praising his long time friend and part-time worker. Eric quickly ran out of the cave and reached for his cell phone, after dialing some numbers he then quickly put the phone up to his ear, within seconds someone answered.

"This is David, state your business," the person on the other end said, David was the head of the Archeology Department for the University. Eric became very excited.

"Mr. Williams, this is Professor Jones, I…" Eric started, but was interrupted by his superior. David sighed.

"Ah Professor, why are you calling me while I'm on vacation? This had better be important," David said acting disappointed.

"Oh yes, it's very important," Eric said.

December 24th

Christmas Eve

5:00 P.M

Keitaro ran his last lap around the house, it was his 16th and he was tired. It had been 7 days since their amazing discovery at the cave in Imperial Valley California. The head of the Archeology Department had called in his associates to check the cave, and to their astonishment; Eric was correct about his accusations. Later the next day they unraveled 15 more skeletons. Seta had stated that the skeletons were from a very long time ago, during the times where humans would be used as sacrifices to calm evil gods that supposively existed in their eyes, and beliefs. Keitaro talked with Mr. Williams, and apparently David wanted to meet Keitaro in January to discuss things. The skeletons were carefully taken to the University, where the bones would be cleaned and repaired if necessary. Keitaro had gotten pictures of the skeleton he had discovered that day. So much had happened during that time. Eric traveled to San Francisco to get Erynn's gift for Keitaro. It cost Keitaro about 1/5th of his overall money. Ouch what a hurt to his wallet! His second most expensive gift was the one he got for Eric, the next was Seta, and last Jody. By 11 a clock on tonight, they would open their presents, and what a surprise it would be!

Keitaro could already see the scene play out in his head.

"Oh Keitaro you shouldn't have!" Erynn said blushing immensely, "How can I ever repay you?" Erynn said as Keitaro's fantasy kicked in.

"It was nothing really," Keitaro said showing a twinkle in his eyes, expressing a handsome smile. "I hope you like it," Erynn looked at Keitaro with a look of seductiveness.

"Let me give you something in return…." Erynn said undoing the sash from her karate uniform, revealing her luscious features, momentarily. The dream cloud quickly popped as Keitaro shook his head hastefully, trying to get the dirty thoughts out of his head, Erynn just wasn't that kind of girl!

"Stupid stupid stupid!" Keitaro said while smacking himself on the head. From a distance Jody was watching Keitaro from the window in Erynn's room, Erynn saw Jody looking out the window.

"What are you looking at Jody?" Erynn said looking at Jody in confusion. Jody wasn't much of a sight seeing Orangutan. Jody turned around and acknowledged her master, Jody began to beat herself on the head softly as if she was mimicking someone. Erynn looked confused.

"You're looking at what!" Erynn said looking out the window. To her astonishment she found Keitaro beating himself on the head once again to fight back the perverted demons in his thoughts. It looked as if Keitaro was talking to himself once again. Erynn smirked annoyingly.

"Don't mind him, he _always_ talks to himself!" Erynn said showing signs of discontent. Jody smiled as she watched Keitaro from afar. Eric called from the stairwell. "Dinner's ready!"

Exactly 11:00 P.M

The time had come, everyone gathered downstairs for the grand event, Christmas! It was time to open presents. Since Keitaro was so into his studies, he decided to get a good look at the Christmas tree. It was elegant, standing about 6 feet tall, fabricated, but it lit up like the beautiful stars in the skies, to top it off; candy canes were on it as well as the angel they lie comfortably on top. Seta decided that he would open his presents first. From Eric he received a carton of cigarettes that had red stripes on them to resemble candy canes, it wasn't a thoughtful gift, but Seta reassured Eric that he could use as many as he could carry. From Keitaro he received a brand new lab coat, this one was nifty because it had more pockets.

"Thanks part-timer!" Seta said holding a thumbs up while grinning widely. Keitaro smiled. Erynn had not given gifts to Eric nor Seta this year, likewise for Eric. They just didn't get along it seemed, and ever year was the same, they wouldn't even celebrate Christmas. Eric opened his first gift, it was from Seta. Eric opened his gift to reveal……a brand new shovel kit, the same kind that Seta had given to Keitaro.

Eric slightly sweatdropped.

"Uh Seta, you know I have like 10 million shovels in my closet?" Eric said twitching his brow. Seta laughed, with his hand placed behind his head.

"Well you see things are a little more expensive here in America, so…" Seta started, but couldn't find a stable excuse. Eric smiled, for he knew Seta at least tried! Next was Keitaro, he opened his gift to reveal. A portrait, it was an oil painting of the downtown shores of San Diego, Eric's eyes lit up like the Christmas tree, it was obvious that Eric liked pictures!

"Amazing! Did you do this yourself Keitaro?" Eric asked. Keitaro shook his head.

"Nope, I paid someone to do it for me, he said that he already knew who you were," Keitaro said smiling. Keitaro was up next, as Seta was grabbing Keitaro's gift, Keitaro attention shifted to Erynn, who sat there trying to ignore everyone around her, she didn't seem at all excited about anything. Keitaro's gift was from Seta.

"Hope you like it part-timer!" Seta said laughing. Keitaro opened his gift with haste, but the present was weird shaped. Keitaro's eyes bulged as he saw what it was. It was a helmet, which had a built in light on the top, the same one that Seta had for excavations in the dark!

"Thanks Seta-san!" Keitaro said placing the helmet on his head. Seta smiled. Keitaro grabbed his next gift, from Eric. He opened the gift, it was…………more English books. Keitaro fell to the ground.

"Ugh, thanks Eric-san," Keitaro said trying to sound enthusiastic, as if his brain wasn't fried from all the English words enough! Erynn was getting impatient. She was about to get up and leave, but Eric quickly stopped her.

"One second dear, where are you going?" Eric said looking surprised. Erynn turned around, starring daggers into her father's eyes.

"I didn't get a gift anyway, so if you'll excuse me," Erynn said with a cold raspy voice. Eric quickly stepped in. "Don't be so sure, there's a gift here for you from Keitaro," Eric said trying to calm his impetuous daughter. Erynn stopped as her eyes looked at Keitaro, they were questioning eyes. Erynn didn't know what to say. She sat down and was given her gift.

Erynn looked slightly shocked that she for one got a gift, and two she was getting it from Keitaro. The package was small, it was wrapped in plain wrapping paper. She tore the paper away slowly, reveling a very small box, small enough to fit in your hand. She opened the box and saw……

Erynn's eyes widened in complete utter shock….Her mouth slightly gaped.

They were earrings, and not ordinary earrings at that. They were 14k gold, and had a green emerald imbedded into the center of them, the emerald sparkled a green color that resembled Erynn's eyes. How did Erynn know all the specs on these earrings? It was the same earrings that her mother wore, it was the same pair she wore everyday until the day of her death, Keitaro had known all along. Keitaro was frightened as Erynn was emotionless for more than 10 seconds, which meant that something was wrong. Erynn looked up at Keitaro, showing questioning eyes.

Suddenly it hit her, her mother wore those earrings everyday! Those were the same pair that her father bought for her mother, she wore them because she loved Eric! She never died from a broken heart, it was never Eric's fault. Laura used to talk about Eric all the time when Erynn was around. But Erynn wouldn't hear of it because her father was never around. Suddenly Erynn felt guilt, she felt as if she had lost not only her mother, but now she was on the verge of losing her father. Erynn couldn't take it anymore she jumped up, with tears in her eyes, and rushed up the stairs sobbing.

"Wait Erynn!" Eric called to her. But it was too late. Keitaro slowly got up from his chair, his eyes showing no emotion. He had failed, Keitaro probably had done things worse now, he felt terrible. Saying nothing, Keitaro ignored Eric and Seta and walked away slowly, removing the helmet from his head.

End Of Flashback.

December 25th 12:20 A.M

Keitaro finished his diary entry finally after 20 minutes had past. Thus marking the end of a long month indeed. He then placed his diary down, and laid his head down to rest. He was tired, and it had been a long day. He felt bad enough for Erynn, and now he made things worse. As Keitaro was about to succumb to the tiredness in his head, the sliding glass door that lead to the back porch area opened, and someone stepped inside. Keitaro slowly opened his eyes to find……Erynn…..standing there with tears in her eyes. But these tears were different, they looked happy. Erynn rushed over to Keitaro and embraced him, for the first time, she was happy. She sobbed slightly as she tightly held Keitaro, and Keitaro held her back, fearfully.

"I'm…..so sorry…..I've been such a jerk to you!" Erynn said in between sobs, Keitaro gently struck her delicate black hair.

"Shh….It's ok now," Keitaro said letting Erynn have her moment. Keitaro felt relieved.

"Thank you for the gift Keitaro," Erynn said burying her face into Keitaro's chest. Keitaro was happy, he had finally gotten closer to Erynn, maybe things weren't gonna be so bad after all..

To Be Continued

Authors Note

Ravening here, that was a long chapter wasn't it! I'm planning this as I go so I'm trying my best. Again my deepest apologies for my tardiness from chapter to chapter. I like to think things out before writing them onto text. January is up next, so hang with me people. My thanks to my reviewers and a big thanks to my pre-reader, Dimitri Plabato. Keep the reviews coming, and for anyone with questions, just give me an email.


	7. New Years Bashing

Keitaro's Return

Chapter 7

Month 3 (Part One of Two)

December 31st

11:55

"Damn the suspense is killing me!" Seta said while nervously puffing his cigarette. Eric and Seta were sitting in the living room, waiting for the moment of truth, the New Year. The time had come and another year would soon be gone.

"It's been quite a year hasn't it Seta?" Eric said grinning to his preoccupied friend, Seta smiled as he saw Jody approach, she had red ribbons in her hair; that were gracefully supplied as a Christmas gift from Keitaro.

"Yes indeed it has, especially for Keitaro-kun," Seta said, as his eyes were fixated into a thought like process. Eric grabbed the newspaper and began to read it.

11:57

"Not much longer…." Seta said. Jody approached his master with a friendly smile then sat next to Eric, smiling to herself.

"Speaking of Urashima, where is he any ways?" Eric said placing the newspaper on his lap. Seta flicked the end of his cigarette into the tray. Seta grinned.

"Oh he'll be down any moment n…" Seta was about to say; suddenly his sentence was interrupted as he heard a scream followed by the mysterious appearance of Keitaro's body, which was heaped, into a corner next to the television. Through Eric's point of view, he witnessed his archeological friend bounce of the walls several times then landing in front of the television, if this was pinball Erynn had already scored around ten thousand or so. Keitaro's limp body seemed to twitch with a hint of pain, but then again; he should be used to this sort of thing by now.

Keitaro managed to speak.

"…….wow…..so...big…and…ugh…." Keitaro said slurring the words with thoughts of Erynn bouncing in his head. Erynn came storming down the hallway, her eyes appeared to have the enough ferocity to shoot lasers from them! Erynn crossed her arms, her eyes were full of disappointment. But thanks to Keitaro, Erynn's lifeless eyes seemed to regain their spark. Keitaro managed to let out a small smile, more like a grin.

"Keitaro, you really need to get your act together, you won't be much of a sparring partner if the sparring comes from me having to kill you every time you walk in on me!" Erynn said releasing a smirk from her face.

The grandfather clock announced the time that everyone had been waiting for, the 12th strike of the clock rang through the house. At long last, January of the New Year was here!

January 1st

12:00 A.M

"Happy New Year!" Seta and Eric shouted with excitement and was cheering enthusiastically, Jody also joined in the madness. Erynn smiled as the trio of goons celebrated what was the end and beginning of another year. She looked down at Keitaro, her green eyes now losing their anger. Keitaro also noticed she was wearing the earrings he got her, she placed her hand in front of Keitaro, offering help.

"Keitaro, you should take the opportunity to adjust your New Year's resolution to redeeming yourself from your perverseness," Erynn said grinning. Keitaro set himself up letting out a sigh with his eyes closed. He tried to reach up for Erynn's hand, however he was quite sure it wasn't her hand he touched. Keitaro's eyes were still closed, and he heard a strange noise that he knew all too well.

Keitaro shuddered in horror, "Oh no that's the same noise when my hand comes across Naru's breas……" Keitaro slowly opened his eyes to find…sure enough….his hand nervously placed on Erynn's breast.

So…. Soft…I mean…Oh…..shit…

Erynn's brow was twitching with anger, the same anger that was expressed just minutes ago. Eric and Seta grinned as they watched Keitaro try to get himself out of his mess. Keitaro sweatdropped, Erynn quickly spun around, trying to perform her spin kick on Keitaro; the same spin kick that was practiced many times with Keitaro. As Erynn spun around, her ankle came into contact with thin air…..Keitaro had disappeared!

"What the!" Erynn shouted as she grimaced at the sight of Keitaro's magic act. Seta's eyes lit up as he grinned with excitement, Keitaro definitely had his moments.

"Ah! nice form part-timer!" Seta said shaking his fist with eagerness. Erynn looked up in astonishment to find Keitaro clinging to a living room ceiling fan, the only problem was that the fan was on!

Keitaro spun around the room not knowing what to do about this predicament. Erynn, Seta, Eric, even Jody watched their friend in amusement as he spun around in circles. Finally after many weird-sounding screams coming from Keitaro, he unexpectedly released himself from the fan and went flying.

"WAAAAAAHH!" Keitaro's scream became muffled as he hit face first into the television screen. The television popped on.

"Happy New Years from across the globe, this broadcast has been brought to you by….." The television power was cut short as Eric hit the power option on the remote control as Keitaro slumped to the ground after his headfirst incident into the television. Keitaro lay on the floor twitching like crazy, Erynn approached her newly acquired friend.

"Jeez Keitaro, pull yourself together, you really should work on your New Year's resolution!" Erynn rolling her eyes, as she helped Keitaro to his feet. Keitaro whimpered. "Maybe you should practice a resolution of not killing me!" Keitaro thought to himself. Seta smirked slightly to himself as he watched his friend in utter amusement. Eric was just happy that Erynn and Keitaro were finally getting along, and that Erynn had finally taken the time to talk to her father after being so resentful.

Keitaro couldn't help but let out a smile, for all was well, with the painful exception of Erynn's beatings of course.

"I'd love to stay and party but I need to get back to studying, afterwards I think I'll turn in." Keitaro said while having his hand placed on the back of his head. He walked away as the trio and Jody watched him go.

Now in his room, Keitaro let out a fatigued sigh. It had been a long day, he started the day out working out in the gym, followed by a 3 hour training seminar with Erynn (Now that he had gained her trust…..uh sort of heh heh) Followed by his daily run for endurance training; topping it off with a near death experience to the supermarket with the oblivious as ever Seta as the driver.

Keitaro plopped himself down on his bed, he was thinking about skipping the whole studying for the night and getting some shut-eye to mark the end of a long day. Keitaro lie there on his bed, his eyes shifted to the outfit that was hung up in his closet, it was a karate uniform that was given to him for Christmas. Believe it or not, Erynn had gotten Keitaro a gift on Christmas Day, turns out she was having a hard time trying to give it to him. But after Keitaro's thoughtful, (and money depriving) gift for Erynn; she quickly gave him the gift on the night she visited Keitaro to thank him. A karate uniform from Erynn, seemed to be a fitting gift in many ways. Since Seta said something about training Keitaro soon, in the field of martial arts.

Soon the fatigue began to kick in, as Keitaro found himself slowly drifting off to sleep, but before his eyes gave way to darkness. His squinted eyes came to the attention to the picture of Naru, on his desk. Keitaro slightly murmured something then closed his eyes. "Nar…u….zz..zz.." With that the weary Keitaro was fast asleep. The door to Keitaro's opened suddenly, and in came Erynn. Her green eyes scanned the room, finding Keitaro a sleep at his bed.

Erynn smirked, "Studying huh? Very funny Keitaro." Erynn then let out a quick smile as she turned out Keitaro's light and walked out the door, allowing Keitaro his well-deserved rest. As she approached her door leading to her room, Eric stood there waiting.

"Goodnight Erynn," Eric said smiling, it was one that was more than words could describe. Erynn embraced her father, returning the smile.

"Goodnight," With that Erynn released her hug, smiling at her father, then went to her room. As Eric was about to walk away, he looked toward Keitaro's door, letting out a grin, then walked downstairs to his room.

5 Days Later

January 6th

Tokyo University

Narusegawa placed her hand in her hair stroking it gently. Her mind was fixated into nothingness, obviously bored with her current place.

She looked out the window while sitting down at her desk; her mind still on Keitaro so she did not receive that much sleep. Things were still as they were when he left. Her mind quickly snapped back for a slight moment as she heard her teacher talking.

"Miss Narusegawa, would you please answer the next question?" Her teacher said calmly. Naru stood up promptly and stood straight up.

"The answer is, 53.35780," Naru said calmly and clearly. The teacher smiled.

"Very good, next we have…" The teacher said. Naru quickly got back to her mode of daydreaming.

"_Keitaro….why did you have to leave…was it my fault?"_ Naru thought, then the other side of Naru kicked in; the side that was the one Naru showed physically.

"_What am I saying? What do I care whether that dork left or not, I never loved him to begin with."_ Naru looked out the window, observing the P.E class and the vigorous sport of tennis.

"_Keitaro…you baka…" _Naru thought to herself. The bell rang, and the students stood up, bowed, and then gathered their things for the next class.

"Class dismissed, don't forget about next week's test," The teacher said.

"_Keitaro, please come back soon"_

The first Christmas, and New Years, without Keitaro there by her side. The night Christmas came, she felt as if she had cried her eyes out drier than the deserts of Pararakelse.

The teacher quickly said something as the students were about to leave. "Naru, I need to see you please."

Naru's eyes glanced a questioned look as she approached her teacher. Naru wondered what he wanted.

"Narusegawa," the teacher said smiling slightly. Naru straightened out her posture, showing respect.

"Hai?" Naru said softly. The teacher stood at his desk observing Naru's homework closely.

"Is there something wrong with my homework?" Naru said blushing slightly. The teacher shook his head.

"No nothing like that Naru, your work is always accurate and you've always been a good student, it's just that….your attention span has diminished slightly, I was just wondering if you've been feeling ok," her teacher said looking concerned. Despite the fact that she was hiding her hurt from the departure of Hinata Sou's kanrinin, she tried her best to hide her feelings.

"I….have been feeling tired lately," Naru said trying to cover up the truth. Her teacher looked sympathetic.

"I'm sorry to hear that Naru, but any ways, I'll see you next week, take good care of yourself," the teacher said handing Naru her graded homework.

Naru began her walk home that day soon after Toudai dismissed the class. Mutsumi had stopped hallway home for a delicious lunch at a beef bowl place. Which at the very instant Naru came across that place, thoughts of Keitaro stormed her mind. Whether she was going to admit it to anyone or not, she was depressed of her loss of Keitaro. What if he never comes back? What if his excitement in America is so overwhelming that he decides to stay? What if his loyalty to Naru became tarnished and Keitaro would turn to someone else? First Seta-san was gone from her life, and now perhaps Keitaro would leave her too? All these thoughts, all these questions haunted Naru day in night, like Keitaro; Naru never won when it came to the game called love. She would turn down an offer with any guy without a second thought, she just wasn't into relationships at the time. Of course when she met Seta-sempai, all of that changed.

Her thoughts returned to normal as she ascended the stairs leading to Hinata Sou. As she reached the top, Kitsune was outside the front door, sweeping the area nonchalantly. Her fox like closed eyes spotted Naru as she approached. Naru tried to ignore her devious friend, the only thing on Naru's mind, was getting to the hot spring and getting some rest. Kitsune stopped her sweeping.

"Hey Naru, you ok? You don't look so good, you look kind of nauseous," Kistune said. Naru smirked.

"Pffffttt..Bullshit! I feel just fine!" Naru said walking inside trying to ignore Kitsune's last statement. Suddenly Su appeared from above, landing on Kitsune in a piggyback position.

"Oooh nauseous what does that mean, is it super tasty!" Su said looking excited. When Su saw Naru leave, she quickly changed her attitude.

"What's wrong with Naru-yan?" Su said. Kitsune opened both of her eyes very slowly, watching the silhouette of Naru fade from sight. Obviously when Kitsune opens her eyes, it either means she has a devious plot planned (which has to do with Keitaro,) or something is wrong. Kitsune closed her eyes almost as quickly as she opened them.

"Keitaro you moron," Kitsune thought to herself. Su looked as confused as ever. As Naru was about to approach the hot springs, she ran into Shinobu on the way. Shinobu looked surprised to see Naru.

"Auuu, Naru-sempai?" Shinobu said with a soft quiet voice. Naru glanced a quick smile, then walked out to the hot springs. Shinobu had a saddened expression as she grabbed the laundry basket full of clothes.

January 8th

San Diego California, Eric's House

5:00 P.M.

Keitaro was up in his room, once again studying his English book, he was going to have to learn English fairly quickly if he was going to attend classes in February. Also, it would seem that Keitaro would have to get himself an American driver's license for the sake of his life at the hands of Seta. The door to Keitaro's room opened, revealing Eric, he was holding the cordless phone.

"Phone call for you Urashima," Eric said giving the phone to Keitaro. He looked surprised as he took the phone and placed it up to his ear. Eric then left the room.

"Hello?" Keitaro said in English.

"Keitaro?" the person on the other end said. Keitaro looked skeptical.

"Yes?" Keitaro replied.

"Urashima, Keitaro?" the person said. Keitaro complied.

"Yes this is me," Keitaro said. The person on the other end continued. His voice was stern and deep, he sounded like a man that was all business.

"This is Professor David Williams, do you remember me?" David said switching to Keitaro's language. Keitaro knew who he was alright, a man of major importance.

"Yes, I spoke to you last month, you're the director of the University of California's Archeology field," Keitaro said confidently. Keitaro could hear David smirk on the other end.

"I'm honored that you remember me Keitaro. Could you come to the university today? I need to speak to you personally," David said. Keitaro examined his watch.

"Of course I can come in, I'll be right over," Keitaro said.

"Great! I'll see you soon then," With that David clicked his phone off, Keitaro did the same. Keitaro was worried, was David mad that they had conducted an illegal excavation? Or perhaps he was going to thank Keitaro? At this point David's intentions were unclear, and in order to find out the truth he would now have to visit the University. Keitaro rushed out of his room, dumping the cordless phone onto in bed hastily. He ran down the hall ignoring Erynn's surprised expression. As Keitaro went down the stairs he saw Eric at the table in the kitchen, he was reading the daily paper.

"Eric-san, David wants me to come to the university today." Keitaro said. Eric placed his newspaper down and observed Keitaro.

"Is that so? I wonder what he could want?" Eric said looking puzzled. Keitaro was hoping to find out from Eric what David wanted with Keitaro, but it appeared that Eric didn't know either.

"Have you seen Seta-san?" Keitaro said shifting his head trying to find his disregardful friend. Eric resumed his reading from the newspaper. He let out a smirk.

"Seta? Yeah the big lug's out side." Eric said laughing. Keitaro walked toward the front door and stepped outside. It was a beautiful day, their wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the wind slightly picked up to carry a small breeze that flowed through Keitaro's hair. Keitaro found Seta over by a tree, he was in a seated position, and Keitaro couldn't tell what his friend was doing. He approached Seta slowly, and noticed that Seta was in his Karate uniform, he was sitting in a mediated position, eyes closed, showing no signs of breathing. Seta seemed to be in a calm state of mind, and to Keitaro it seemed like there was a tranquil aura surrounding Seta. Seta was also holding a staff in his hands.

"Seta," Keitaro said quietly, "I'm heading to the university, I was wondering if you wanted to come?" Keitaro said wondering if Seta would acknowledge him. Seta didn't even flinch, it was if he did not hear Keitaro at all. Keitaro tried again, this time a little louder.

"Seta? Did you hear me?" Keitaro tried once more, suddenly Seta's eyes snapped opened as if he had just awaken from a trance. He instantly rose up and brought the staff up in a striking position. Seta raised his staff, apparently trying to strike down Keitaro. He didn't have a chance to react to this sudden change in Seta's attitude, but you'd better believe that Keitaro's face was struck with fear.

"Seta what are you…." Keitaro tried to say, but he couldn't finish his wording because the staff was approaching Keitaro; trying to target the head. Keitaro acted without thought, he lowered himself on one knee, then right when the staff was inches from his head, he quickly grasped the staff with his bare hands; catching it before Seta could make contact with Keitaro' head.

Keitaro's arms shook immensely as he tried to stabilize the staff, for it was apparent that Seta was putting all of his strength in trying to put Keitaro down. Seta unexpectedly released his lock with Keitaro's hand, and turned around smiling, the look of blatant surprise was still on Keitaro's face. Seta quickly turned around to face his friend.

Seta grinned. "It seems that Motoko-chan was right," Seta said. Keitaro looked stunned.

"What do you mean," Keitaro said keeping his eyes focused on Seta's staff, making sure he wouldn't try anything again. Seta's staff hit the ground as he turned around to face Keitaro, his eyes showing no emotion, a look that Seta had _never_ shown ever! Seta's glare intimidated Keitaro. Seta poised a stance, a fighting one.

"Well now Keitaro-kun, how about a match!" Seta said slightly smiling. Keitaro's eyes bulged, and his mouth was now as long as the staff.

_A match with Seta san? Oh God what have I done to deserve this?_

"Seta-san! What are you saying, I'm not like you, and I don't have any fighting experience and….." Before Keitaro could finish his sentence Seta had already made up his mind, in making the first move. He stood about 2 feet from Keitaro and attempted to get a punch in, preferably the face. The bewildered Keitaro did the only thing that came to his mind. He raised his arms in an X, hoping to block Seta's attack. Seta's fist came into contact with the intersection of the x formation in Keitaro's arms, hitting his forearm. The shock was absorbed, and Keitaro fell back about 3 feet, Keitaro shouted.

"Seta! Why are you doing this!" Keitaro said still stunned at his unexplained friend. Seta smiled as he resumed his stance. Keitaro raised his arms, accepting the fact that Seta was likely to attack again, knowing his friend wasn't going to listen to his plea. Seta rushed Keitaro, running at an incredible trademark of speed. Despite his age, and chain-smoking habits; Seta was no pushover when it came to speed. Keitaro's eyes widened as he recognized what Seta were about to do. Seta jumped high in the air and attempted Erynn's trademark Spin Kick. Keitaro predicted this, and just in time, raised his arm to block Seta's attack. Just as Seta's heel touched Keitaro's forearm, something unpredictable happened. Seta brought his other foot forward while still stationed in the air; Seta hit Keitaro square on the face. Keitaro was knocked backwards.

As Keitaro landed, the shock of the attack was still apparent, he had not seen that one coming. Keitaro could feel blood oozing from his nose as his vision became disoriented. Seta walked slowly toward his prey, like a hunter ready to finish the job. Keitaro could make out Seta as his vision slowly returned. Seta jumped high in the air, ready to pounce. Keitaro quickly rolled forward as Seta landed; a small crater was formed in the ground at Seta's foot strike. Seta turned around to find his part-timer fleeing. Or so it seemed.

"Running away already? Part-timer!" Seta chased after Keitaro as he took departure. Seta ran to catch up to Keitaro. Suddenly Keitaro slightly kneeled down; Seta was now 3 feet in front of the immobile Keitaro. Keitaro suddenly let out a yell and quickly swung his body around. His one hand empty, in the other hand laid the staff that was dropped earlier by Seta. Seta eyes widened as he knew he couldn't block the attack in time. The staff made a loud crack as it came into contact with Seta's leg. Seta grimaced as he could feel his leg produce the pain.

_Oh damn now I've made him mad! _

"That was pretty dirty part-timer! Ha ha ha!" But Seta still wasn't finished yet, he fought back the pain. Keitaro didn't give him the chance; it was time to go on an offensive. Keitaro swung the staff around like a mad man, trying to land strikes on Seta's head, arms, and legs, whatever he could to take Seta down. Seta wouldn't fall for that trick again, he dodged all of Keitaro's swings as if they were kids play, Seta smiled once again, this time grasping a hold of the staff as Keitaro attempted to get another hit in. Seta hit Keitaro's pressure points in his hand. Keitaro winced as he lost the grip on the staff; Seta then took the staff as his own. Now the tables had turned. Keitaro backed away, now afraid. Seta just smiled, as always.

Keitaro knew he wouldn't do any good by backing away, but facing Seta was bad enough, and now… of ALL times, Seta had a staff! Seta twirled the staff around as if to show off, this only petrified Keitaro even more. Seta held the staff firmly in front of him and began to speak to himself, as if he was chanting something. Seta then swung his staff in an arc, letting loose what appeared to be energy. Keitaro's eyes widened, as he recognized that move. Keitaro jumped just in time to dodge the energy wave, Keitaro remembered all to well.

"_You'd better be careful around her Keitaro"_ He_ remembers Naru saying along time ago. _

"_What?" Keitaro asked_

"_I hear Motoko comes from a family line of martial arts, not only is she good with kendo, but she can smash rocks with her sword and," _

Keitaro gasped. A Ki attack! A form of spiritual energy that seems to come from out of no where, when in fact the power of ki is summoned by a person's spirit energy, or something like that. He remembered Motoko was capable of the same technique. Before Keitaro could think anymore about the topic at hand, another ki wave headed toward him. Keitaro's dodged the next one, with this Seta proceeded to move forward as he launched wave after wave of ki attack's with Keitaro dodging them all. As Seta drew near, Keitaro found himself backed up against a tree, Keitaro froze unsure of what to do. If he attacked again it would be all over. Seta swung his staff, releasing another attack. Keitaro closed his eyes, but unexpectedly; the ki energy went right through his body, the unharmed Keitaro found himself up in the air. As Keitaro's eyes opened, Seta held Keitaro by the throat. Seta fist was glowing with energy, then without warning Seta punched Keitaro in the stomach. Keitaro's vision slowly went black, as if the world around him slowly started to vanish. Seta released his now motionless friend, his body slumping to the ground.

January 9th

San Diego California, Eric's House.

9:00 A.M

Keitaro eyes slowly began to open to take in the morning light. Keitaro had no idea a level of pain like this even existed. He slowly scanned to find himself lying on his bed. There were medical wrappings around his stomach, and he could feel the pain still. His eyes shifted over and found Jody looking out his window. He smiled only to himself and searched the room some more. His eyes came across a human being. He had blonde hair that hid his eyebrows and which was tied like a ponytail as his hair was down to his neck, he had amber like eyes that appeared gentle, and the man appeared to be the same height as Seta, and he was very handsome. He appeared to be a ladies man; he wore a lab coat just like all the others. The man sensed Keitaro's stirring and amber eyes met brown.

"Your finally awake, I see," His voice was very deep, but heart warming, he spoke very fluent Japanese. He smiled slightly. Keitaro looked at him surprised.

"Who are you?" Keitaro said asking the obvious. The man frowned as he saw that Keitaro couldn't move very well.

"I talked to you yesterday, the name is Williams, Professor David Williams," David said nonchalantly, stars appeared near David's head, as if he was proud of that name and was showing off. Keitaro gasped, and tried to move, but he felt the sting of the bruise in his abdomen.

"Easy there, don't rush yourself," David said frowning slightly as he knew Seta was responsible for Keitaro's disfigurement. "Looks like Seta really did a number on you," David said. It was all coming back to him, the unexpected fight that Keitaro had with Seta.

"The big lug, I don't think I could ever beat him," Keitaro said sighing. David smiled.

"I wouldn't worry too much, I chewed the big lug out, however I don't think he heard a word I said, just kept smiling and puffing on that cigarette," David said as he shook his fist with his eye twitching in annoyance.

_Yep, that's Seta alright. _

"I guess Seta was right, you are invincible after all, and I thought he was joking," David said laughing. Keitaro slightly sweatdropped, he knew that his so called "invincibility" had come in handy from time to time with certain "accidents" that occurred not long ago as Kanrinin of Hinata Sou.

"So what's his excuse for ambushing me!" Keitaro said still not understanding Seta's motives. David gave a look of seriousness, his eyes shimmering. (This guy is definitely a ladies man)

"He said he was…..testing you," David said purposely avoiding eye contact with Keitaro. David knew exactly what Seta was doing, but David knew that it was Seta that would explain to the boy what he was doing. Keitaro grimaced slightly as he managed to get into a seated position; the pain reminded him of the same medicine that he endured at home by a certain kendo chick, not to mention an immature spasmodic babe.

"I'm hungry," Keitaro said. David smiled at Keitaro's comment.

"I'm not surprised, today is the ninth, you've been out since yesterday," David said handing Keitaro a bowl of Miso Soup. Keitaro took the bowl of soup and gave a smile that gestured "thank you." Keitaro began eating the soup with his chopsticks. Despite the fact that Eric had taught Keitaro how to use American items, such as a spoon and a fork, the chopsticks just seemed natural, just like the language. David placed a glass in front of Keitaro. Keitaro sniffed at it, not knowing what it is.

"What is this?" Keitaro asked, David smiled at his handy work.

"That drink is made of some herbs, that should help with the pain, I mixed it with some Sake' that should make it taste a little better," David said smiling. It was obvious that the drink was probably a hand-me-down, someone from David's family must have taught him how to make it, or maybe David was just a genius when it came to that sort of thing. Keitaro tried the drink and slightly grimaced at the first taste, but then decided to chug the rest of it. The drink was very bitter. Keitaro said nothing, not knowing what to say about it. Seta suddenly walked into the room. David saw Seta and decided that It was time to leave and give those two some privacy. David left the room, leaving the crippled and the oblivious to talk things over. Keitaro decided it was best to ask the obvious, but Seta got the first word in.

"Before you say anything Keitaro," Seta said smiling, but then continued. "We live in a world where absolutely _anything_ can go wrong, despite the fact that you put up a good fight; I will have Erynn teach you some basic martial arts for awhile, then I will teach you more," Seta said grinning. This satisfied Keitaro, somewhat; at least he knew what Seta was doing now.

"You know, you could have gone easier on me!" Keitaro shouted at his oblivious friend. Seta laughed while placing his hand behind his head.

"Um yeah about that eh….my bad….I got a little carried away, ha ha ha," Seta said laughing hysterically. Keitaro's head jerked forward as if a 10-ton block fell on his head, "_A little? He says!" _

"But I have to admit that one attack did hurt," Seta said showing Keitaro the bruise on his leg where he was struck by the staff. It was a good-sized bruise, and Keitaro didn't realize how hard he struck Seta until now.

"You've must have been through a lot of fights in your time," Keitaro said sounding as if he was interested. Seta smiled slightly.

"You could say that, every now and then a terrorist's organization tries to get a hold of an artifact and sell it on the black market, and now and then people fight over artifacts; usually I get caught in the cross fire, and well…." Seta said rambling on and on. Keitaro was impressed; he must have been tons of fights!

"Have you ever lost?" Keitaro said next. Seta instantly gave a look of horror, then fell out of his chair, how could he forget!

"_Heh you're even cuter when you're angry," Seta said with stars in his eyes. But that only pissed Haruka off even more! _

"_You fool! You think you can get off the hook by saying something that corny?" Haruka shouted. Seta looked terrified. She held in her hands what appeared to be a giant spherical shaped object, with eyeballs on it. _

"_No wait Haruka! Time-out!" Seta tried to reason with her but it wouldn't work. _

"_Hasta la vista!" With that, Haruka threw the spherical bomb that belonged to Su. Now why the hell Su had a bomb with her on the beach is beyond anyone's guess. _

Seta quickly jumped back up into his chair, straightening out his posture, he let out a small cough with his eyes closed. Keitaro wasn't sure what to make of that last uh….stunt.

"More importantly," Seta said breaking the silence. "You should get your rest; hopefully you'll feel better tomorrow," Seta said smiling with his eyes still closed. Keitaro didn't object, he decided he had better get his rest. He nestled himself under his covers and let out a sigh; Seta took Keitaro's plate, and glass, and left the room. Keitaro was now left with peaceful solitude. He closed his eyes, allowing sleep to overtake his mind.

Authors Note, Hi everyone, Ein here, back from being grounded by my parents (Pre-reader note: LOL! You we're grounded for a MONTH? ROTFL!). (Authors Note To Prereader: My parents want to kill me! I guess that's what I get for smarting off) For my punishment I was banned from my computer (my love and joy) But now I'm back and ready for some action. A quick thanks to my fans and reviewers, thanks again to Dimitri Plabato my pre-reader, and a not so grateful thanks to my parents for putting my story behind at least a month, (dorks). Take it easy everyone!


	8. The Iron Shovel

Keitaro's Return

Chapter 8

Month 3 (Part Two of Two)

January 14th

1:00 P.M

Seta was in a state of silence as he relaxed his body, his mind tensed as the heat of the sauna was turned on high. It had been a long day already for him. He decided to jog all the way to San Diego that day and back with Keitaro-kun. It was no doubt a good 5 mile hike just to the city lines of California, then 5 miles back, and with a good start at 6 in the morning; you could pretty much do the math. Despite the fact that Seta had a good inch in strength and speed, Seta's smoking habits still did not come without consequences. To Seta's surprise, Keitaro had been well almost a day later, there was no visible bruising by the time Keitaro had removed his wrappings. Although he must admit to himself, he went a little too hard on his friend; but that's just how Seta was. Whether it was Keitaro's will to survive or his so called "Immortality," that got him through Seta's beatings, Keitaro definitely had his moments. Despite the fact that Eric and David were both mad at Seta, he assured them that Keitaro would recover with optimism. Seta's mind quickly came back to his senses around him as he heard some strange noises coming from across the hall; his curiosity got the better of him. He scurried down the hall, like a devious little kid; wrapping the towel around his hip. From the hallway he could hear Keitaro and Erynn talking.

"Keep going Erynn don't give up now!" Seta could hear Keitaro saying, Erynn sounded as if she was out of breath.

"Keitaro give me a break I've been doing this for an hour now! I can't keep going!" Erynn shouted at him. Seta nearly flipped over onto the carpet when he heard this! Could Erynn and Keitaro be…No, Seta had to be sure; he decided to listen in even closer.

"But Erynn, you were doing so GOOD just a while ago," Keitaro said trying to sound enthusiastic.

"No more, let me rest for a bit!" Erynn shouted trying to get Keitaro off her back.

"I bet I could do this longer than you," Keitaro said laughing. Seta couldn't take it anymore! He turned the corner, looking toward the two expecting to see a good show, but to Seta's disappointment (and to the disappointment to the perv's and my readers, no offense) (:Ein… you totally suck for that one…:) he saw that Erynn was on the ground of the weight room, doing sit-ups, with the cheerful Keitaro attempting to cheer her on, both of them wearing their respective karate uniforms, Keitaro in white, Erynn in black. Seta slightly sweatdropped at this sight, he thought for sure that they had…uh you get the idea.

"Seta? What brings you here?" Keitaro said looking surprised to see his friend dressed in nothing but a towel. Erynn also looked up from a lying position to find Seta looking surprised.

"Um nothing, just checking on uhh…Never Mind! Gotta go!" With that Seta took off with a sprint into the opposite direction, deciding it was best NOT to explain his recent actions.

"Seta can be really weird sometimes!" Erynn said looking confused, Keitaro looked confused as ever.

"You have NO idea!" Keitaro said from past experiences. As Erynn tried to attempt more sit-ups, Keitaro looked on, not saying anything. Erynn finally decided to intervene the silence.

"Say Keitaro," Erynn said trying to strike up a conversation. Keitaro looked down at her, while sitting on the carpet about a foot away from her.

"Did you have any cute girls staying with you at the dormitory?" Erynn said stopping her sit ups. Keitaro looked surprised.

'Eh? What brought this up? But oh boy! All of them were attractive in their own way'

"Yeah…But what brought this up?" Keitaro said wondering what stirred Erynn's mind to ask such an atypical question. Erynn's green eyes shimmered, as a grin crossed her face, a mischievous one at that.

"Were any of them…cuter then me?" Erynn said trying to tease Keitaro. Keitaro blushed immensely, and Keitaro began to ramble in confusion.

"Um….um…Wait…I uh…You tricked me!" Keitaro shouted while still blushing. Erynn giggled as she blushed as well. Keitaro then decided to even the odds.

"Oh yeah, you think that's funny huh? How about this," Keitaro laughed as he began tickling her sides, knowing that was her weakness. Erynn's face turned beat red as she began laughing hysterically, tears of laughter came from her eyes.

"No…Keitaro…stop…ha ha ha…" Keitaro was laughing too! He hadn't had a good time with Erynn ever. So he was going to make up for lost time. Suddenly through the laughter there was a voice that screamed.

"AH HA! Now I know you're doing something…" It was Seta again, still wrapped around his towel, pointing his finger at Erynn and Keitaro (Obviously Seta just won't give up) Seta once again came around the corner expecting to find a good show, however was once again disappointed. Seta fell over onto the floor, face first. At this both Keitaro and Erynn sweatdropped, oblivious to what Seta's intention was by appearing at random intervals. Seta quickly got up, with that Seta laughed and then a split second later he was gone, Erynn and Keitaro looked at each other with confusion. With that, Keitaro stood up.

"I have to get going now Erynn, I have to go see David today," Keitaro said smiling. Erynn got up as well.

"Alright then, I'm off to the shower, thanks for your help today," Erynn said giggling. With that Keitaro left the weight room. This was definitely going to be a good day. Keitaro headed down the hall way to his room. Inside there was no one there, Jody had apparently took off to her room, and Keitaro didn't make a habit of visiting her vast jungle like room, for it reminded him too much of Su's room back home. He closed the door behind him and plopped down on his bed; obviously tired. He took hold of the only picture he had that was on his dresser.

Naru looked so beautiful even though he knew that behind her illustrious exquisiteness; lie a dormant perverted imp exterminator. Flashes of memories flooded Keitaro's mind at the sight of this picture, suddenly Keitaro placed the picture down hastily. Keitaro had been trying to fight back his memories of home, and Naru. For they were only good for getting in the way of his studies, and the fun he was having here in America. Keitaro arose from his bed and decided it was best to take a shower; he left his room, and walked down the hallway. He saw lights coming from the upstairs bathroom. Keitaro froze.

"_Oh hell, I know where this is going, my mind just wanted to walk in this bathroom, but I know Erynn is probably in their so I should go downstairs". _

Keitaro's mind was actually working today. He walked downstairs feeling proud of himself, that he didn't walk in on Erynn, and he didn't have to play pinball with the walls and ceiling. As he reached the downstairs area, he smiled slightly to himself, knowing that he diverted another crisis, as he opened the door to the 1st bathroom; there lie the illustrious body of Erynn lying in the bathtub, filled with water. Through the steamy bathroom, Keitaro could make out Erynn's trademark look of irritation. She arose from the bath, ready to act by instinct, or rather annoyance. Well if you're gonna go down in style, you should at least see something memorable, heh heh.

"Is knocking a forbidden habit in Japan OR WHAT?" Erynn said looking angry. Keitaro stammered.

"Erynn! What the? How the?" Keitaro shouted, but before he even had a chance of finishing his slurred sentence, he instantly found himself flying outside the bathroom, bouncing into every wall imaginable, soaring up the circular stairs and landing roughly just outside the upstairs bathroom.

TILT!

Keitaro took a moment to collect his now limp body. If he ever saw a pinball machine ever in his life, he would probably shudder at it. Keitaro looked up.

"_Ok, now who in the hell is in THIS bathroom!" _

Keitaro REALLY didn't want to know, but the curiosity got the better of him. For some reason, he thought for sure that Erynn would be in this bathroom too! How is that possible! Who knows! With Keitaro's luck it seems that he's a magnet to unfortunate events! Or should I say fortunate? Heh heh. Keitaro opened the door to the bathroom with his eyes closed, hesitantly moving the door. There was an eerie silence, but Keitaro found the will to open his eyes……….Seta was standing there in his towel with a razor in his hand, he looked puzzled.

"Part-timer, good timing! Could you go get the shaving cream from the downstairs bathroom? Oh wait! It looks as if you've already been there! Ha ha ha ha!" Seta exclaimed laughing.

Keitaro instantly hit the floor in blatant disorientation. Keitaro shook his fist in annoyance.

Se….SETA!

January 20th

6:45 A.M

Flight 325

The sound of rustling could be heard through Keitaro's sleep. He opened his eyes momentarily, allowing the light to alter his now blurry vision. He saw a late-teenage boy rustling through his bag, as if he was drastically looking for something important. The boy had a nerdish appearance yet is was most certain that he was definitely an American. After several minutes of rummaging, he pulled out what appeared to be a game-boy, the boy greedily smiled and returned to his seat which was located 3 isles in front of Keitaro. Now awake, Keitaro took a good look around. On the left of his isle was Eric and Seta, they were fast a sleep as well.

One isle up, and to the left was David Williams, who was also asleep, even in his sleep he sustained a lady-killer like look. The day after Keitaro's injuries healed, he had gone to the university to talk to David. Turns out, David invited Keitaro to join him in a big excavation at Ridgecrest California. David was not at all mad that Keitaro along with Seta and Eric had conducted an illegal excavation. Since the skeletal findings were discovered, there was more "life" at the University. Students and teachers on excavations would bring in artifacts like pots and pictures of ancient drawings in all the time, but to find skeletal remains was very rare, since only the real archeologist find that stuff. Keitaro examined his watch, it was almost seven now, he began to wonder how much longer it would take to reach Ridgecrest. After 2 days spent at Ridgecrest, David informed that they would then travel to Death Valley California for excavations. It was dangerous to be outside that area in the daytime in the summertime, but during the winter time is was relatively cool. Luckily, Keitaro had packed everything he needed. Keitaro's mind snapped back into reality as he saw movement on his right, he turned to find Erynn sleeping without a care in the world.

Despite the fact that Erynn never went to any excavations with her father, or any excavations period; not to mention her lack of interest in archeology all together, Keitaro had wondered why she came with him in the first place. Erynn had assured him that she was coming along to merely "get out" for a change.

"Or maybe…could it be that Erynn had…nah that's not possible." Keitaro thought to himself while slightly smirking.

But it would be nice for a change to see more people at this excavation. Seta said there would be lots of students and teachers here, ones from the San Francisco area. Jody apparently could not come along; it would be hard to explain to airport security why a 6 foot Orangutan was here. Jody was staying with one of Eric's well-known friends. Erynn slightly murmured in her sleep, it was all gibberish and untranslatable. Keitaro felt a soft feeling near his rested elbow, whatever it was it was very soft and slightly um…spacious. Keitaro knew all too well what this feeling was rustling against his elbow, and I have a feeling you know too. Keitaro looked in horror, or rather ecstasy over the fact that Erynn's breast was now rubbing against his elbow, what a predicament wouldn't you agree? (:Go K-man:)

Keitaro found his nose oozing blood slowly out of his nose. This was just his luck, after all he had been through, and Keitaro could probably write a book about the girls at Hinata Sou and the details of all of their um…distinguishable priorities. Including size, density, feel ratio, and probably bounce levels. Now with his luck with Erynn, he now figured 3 out of the 4 ratings. Suddenly Keitaro's mind snapped back to reality as something hit him across the head, he looked down to find a box of tissues. Keitaro looked over to find the culprit who threw them at his head. Seta was smiling with a devious grin, as if he knew what was going on with Keitaro. Keitaro sweatdropped as he cleaned off his nose. And with Erynn's breast still on his elbow, he couldn't complain.

This is going to be a long day……

That same day

8:00 A.M

Ridgecrest California

25 miles southwest of Death Valley

Despite the fact that it was early in the day, it was somewhat cold outside. As soon as they landed at Ridgecrest, the cool air was unmistakable. Seta knew that both Ridgecrest and the Death Valley had relatively cool temperatures in the wintertime. Keitaro was still half asleep as he immerged from the plane with the rest of the gang, including Erynn. They all followed David to the airport parking area. There were several jeeps waiting for them, Jake flagged them down. Keitaro smiled at the sight of Jake, he hadn't seen him since his excavation in the Imperial Valley, last December.

_We'd better not let Seta drive _

The group approached the 3 jeeps, one of the driver's was Jake, Authors Note, Jake was the character from the December Chapter Part 2 another was an unfamiliar man, plus the last driver of the 3rd jeep, was a female.

"Let's get going, we have to meet up with the others at camp," David said turning to face Jake. Jake nodded. Jake fired up the engine, with the other's doing the same.

"Load er up!" Jake said. The group at random picked a jeep to ride in. They loaded their equipment and were off in a flash.

The ride to camp would roughly take about a half an hour, since it was out in the outskirts of town. David had predicted that they wouldn't find much their, artifact wise. But there would be plenty of newbie's there, and basically this was there first step in the archeological field. After two days or so, the main group would pack up and head for Death Valley. Keitaro ended up riding with David; he turned to look at his newly acquainted friend. David had a look of complete seriousness on his face as he scanned the horizon mindlessly. The person that was driving the jeep was a woman appearing to be in her early thirties, she had brown hair that went to her middle of her back, blue eyes, and was as normal looking as a woman could be, there didn't appear to be anything special about her. The woman saw Keitaro's stare, she turned briefly and let off a smile, one of those smiles that makes you feel warm inside.

"Forgive my rudeness Keitaro-kun," David said in his deep trademark voice. "This is my wife Alesha,"

"Hiya," Alesha said with the same warm smile that she displayed earlier, she was wearing the same lab coat that all the other archeologists wear. Keitaro returned the smile, and since his English was coming along quite fluently, he decided to give it a try, but at a steady rate.

"Nice...to meet you," Keitaro said smiling. David let out a grin as he playfully jabbed Keitaro in the shoulder.

"Keitaro, your English in coming along nicely, keep it up," David said encouragingly. Keitaro looked overwhelmed, as he slightly blushed.

"Heh thanks," Keitaro said. David gave a "boastful" smile. Suddenly David's cell phone began to ring; it was one of those annoying ring tones that David always forgot to change.

"Dammit," David reached into his pocket pulling out his cell phone. "This is David,"

After a few seconds of silence, David's eyes bulged. "What! Son of a…Are you sure? Ok," David stopped for a moment to look at his watch.

"Alright then, we'll go on ahead, I'll stop by after were done in Death Valley…right…ok…bye." With that David closed up his cell phone, placing it back into his pocket. He grabbed the CB radio that was built in to the jeep near the dashboard, he then set the frequency.

"Breaker one seven this is Professor D here, do you read me? Over," Eric said in with CB language.

"This is Seta, Roger David loud and clear, over," Seta could be heard on the CB. Soon another voice was heard.

"Roger mate, this is Robert, I can hear ya, go ahead, over," Robert said on the line. David continued.

"Alright, our guys down in San Francisco had flight delays for several hours, they can't make it for at least another day, were going up ahead to Death Valley, let's get going it will be about another hour drive,"

"Roger that, over and out," Seta said. With that Alesha knew that there was one route from where they were to take them to Death Valley. In another hour, Keitaro's 3rd excavation would begin.

Death Valley was indeed got its name correctly. There didn't appear to be a single ounce of life in this area, everything appeared to be dead. Death Valley was probably one of the most arid places on Earth, and probably the most arid in North America. Despite the fact that these factors were in favor, this did not discourage Keitaro, an excavation, a journey, and one hell of a time was all it was to him. As they arrived at the campsite, the place was somewhat flat, and somewhat jagged. The ground was dry as the air, and it was cold outside. As the group assembled the equipment, David pointed Keitaro toward the other jeeps.

"Forgive my extreme rudeness Urashima, allow me to introduce these people," David said letting out a small cough. David pointed to the tall man as he emerged from under the jeep; whoever he was he appeared to be the process of inspecting the motor. He was a very tall man, slightly taller than Seta. He appeared to be neither American nor Japanese. He had short black hair, rough brown eyes; there was a distinctively cocky look on his face, like he was a man ready for anything. He was wearing a sleeveless black shirt, and rugged pants.

"Howdy mate! Nice ta meet ya, the name's Robert," the man said holding out his hand to Keitaro. This man obviously had an Australian accent. Keitaro was surprised by this, none-the-less after translating the man's words, he acknowledged the shake.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Keitaro," Keitaro said attempting his foreign language. The man smiled, it was a cocky one, but a friendly one at that. Robert grabbed some bags, and ran off in a hurry to help make camp. The next person to be introduced was someone special to David.

"Keitaro," David said with his distinctive voice. Keitaro slightly sweatdropped at this, because now David appeared to have a proud look in his eye, not to mention several stars in his eyes. David turned to reveal a boy who appeared to be in his early teens. The boy was about the same size as Keitaro, he had a slightly youthful pride in his appearance, light brown hair, blue eyes, and had a devious look on his face. Given the fact that this boy looked vaguely familiar, there was something else about him. The boy was wearing black hoody, blue jeans, and some work boots.

"Whoa a dude from Japan, sweet! What's Japan like man? How long are you staying!" The boy was asking one too many questions too fast; Keitaro couldn't interpret any of it. Common words, Keitaro could interpret, but the word "Dude" had Keitaro stumped from the start. David quickly let out a "ahem," with that the boy got the idea. He bowed to Keitaro, Japanese style courtesy.

"This is my son, Alex," David said smiling once more, while tightening his grip on Alex shoulders. "He can get a little carried away some times,"

Alex grinned, it was an uneasy one. "Heh, sorry, my bad, I'm Alex, nice to meet you Keitaro," Alex said nervously, but none the less; Keitaro returned the bow.

"Pleasure's mine," Keitaro said smiling, for he himself knew how Alex felt. Keitaro was sure that Alex was a adventurous type person, he was probably eager to see Japan, just as Keitaro was eager to see America. Robert came running back and grabbed more bags from the jeep.

"Ahh, Death Valley, the most arid place in North America," Robert said turning to Keitaro. Keitaro looked interested.

"Death Valley was named after gold seekers, who died in their greed hunt for gold during the 1894 gold rush, most of them died from crossing this here valley. Also, naturally, this here valley is a ways under sea level, but the largest place would be near Badwater, which is 282 feet below sea level. This place is nuttin' but miles and miles of mountainous terrain, dust and debris," Robert said, giving a historical lecture. Keitaro was impressed; Robert had definitely done his homework. Robert flung a bag over his backside.

"Plus this place is one of the hottest places on Earth durin the summer time," Robert said. Keitaro was stunned.

"Wow Robert, how do you know so much about this place?" Keitaro asked. A voice from behind responded. It was Seta.

"That's an easy question, that's because this place may be the hottest place on Earth…but it's also the most boring place on Earth!" Seta said. Robert and Seta laughed, since they both shared the same logic. Seta and Keitaro grabbed more equipment and followed Robert.

"This place seems full of opportunity for a new-comer like you Keitaro, but to the experienced eye, this place doesn't have much to offer," Seta said while looking up at the sky. There was a voice up ahead.

"Seta stop your babbling and hurry up with that equipment!" Jake said showing impatience. Seta quickened his pace along with Robert and Keitaro tagging along behind them.

1:00 P.M.

There were luckily eight tents, one for everyone. If not then everyone would have to share tents. Of course, their was one extra huge tent, used for everyone to "hang out." Keitaro was surprised at the sight of everyone enjoying themselves. Alesha and Erynn had gone out with Eric to set boundary lines at least 1 mile in 4 separate directions of the camp area, so that anyone would know that they were entering a camp area, and as a precaution for anyone who would get lost. Not knowing who in the right mind would go out in the middle of this barren wasteland, with the exception of the adventurous Seta, of course.

"So she left ya eh mate?" Robert said. Keitaro's mind came back, as he heard Robert's last words.

"Yeah she did, she couldn't handle me leaving all the time," Jake said frowning. "Despite the fact that she was beautiful, she just couldn't handle it,"

Seta took out a cigarette and lit it quickly, looking deep in thought. He offered one to everyone, only Jake accepted.

"There's just one thing a woman just can't give you, and that my friends, is the world. The journey of life was meant to travel the world, and to see it before we leave this world," Jake said as he took a cigarette that was offered by Seta.

"You got it lucky you know David…Your wife goes with you everywhere, and pretty soon, even your son, you've got it made," Seta said.

"_This is amazing,"_ Keitaro thought to himself. These men were all archeologists, and here they were talking about women. Keitaro thought that all these guys would talk about are artifacts, travels around the world, and good times together with friends. This was the last thing he expected. Keitaro supposed though, deep down; men are men, no matter what happens. David's stern voice cut through Keitaro's mind.

"Perhaps you're right, but none of you should give up, especially you Seta," David said laughing. Everyone turned to Seta.

"Ya mate, you really should throw in a couple more of them proposals every now and then for poor Haruka, hell it took me four tries before I was successful," Robert said laughing. Seta looked a bit uncomfortable, but he gave an oblivious smile.

"Ha I've tried many times, but she just turns me down," Seta said laughing innocently. Jake inhaled on his drag, then exhaling.

"You gotta be more aggressive Seta! Show her some of those feelings deep within your heart; tell her how you feel for real you lug head!" Jake said smirking sheepishly. Seta just smiled slightly, he figured he would change the subject.

"My situation isn't nearly as grave, as part-timer here," Seta said not knowing the consequences. At that everyone's head turned to Keitaro, it was like they had found a new victim to intimidate. Keitaro felt the eyes of everyone around him. However Keitaro's embarrassment only made them more curious.

"Yes, Keitaro is from Japan, he must have himself a girl back home," David said looking at Keitaro curiously. Keitaro blushed slightly.

"Poor Keitaro-kun has a nice girl back home, unfortunately she is a little reluctant on expressing her feelings for him in return, not to mention she's like Haruka, you just don't wanna piss her off!" Seta smiled. Of course by "a little reluctant," you could say that phrase was slightly short of a major understatement. Everyone grinned, as if their minds came up with the possible things that Keitaro had to go through back home.

"Take my advice Keitaro, you shouldn't follow someone like her, she'll probably just blow you off completely," Jake concluded. Keitaro felt as if a dagger was stabbed into his body, he twitched.

"Ya mate, definitely a lost cause," Robert added. Another dagger was felt.

"Way out of your league," David said. This one felt like a sword.

"There are much better girls out there," Seta said. The next was definitely a scimitar, probably giving the death blow. Keitaro shook off his painful insults.

"Seta! You're not helping!" Keitaro shouted. Keitaro looked down, he was saddened. Why did he go through so much hell for her? Did he really love someone, that didn't love him back. How much longer was she going to keep him waiting? No…It was much more than that, more than a promise, more than Tokyo U. Was it really love? Or was it just the fact that her beauty is what inspired him? Keitaro just couldn't figure it out.

"It's just that…she holds a very special place in my heart, I'm not giving up until I get a straight answer!" Keitaro said confidently, standing up for himself and Naru. Everyone smiled.

"Ahh to be young again!" Robert said grinning. David was the first to give Keitaro advice.

"That's the spirit part-timer! Give it your all!" Seta said changing his mood quickly.

"There you go mate, take your time, no rush; just make sure you get an answer!" Robert said smiling.

"Never the less Keitaro, when you get your answer…make sure you make the right choice, that's what really counts, and be confident in your decision," David said. It was truly amazing how one's viewpoint could change everyone else's. Suddenly the mood changed.

"Hey you could always go for Erynn, she's a nice girl!" Seta said. Keitaro fell over in embarrassment. Keitaro could hear the rest of the men babbling on and on about Erynn.

Keitaro could hardly see himself with Erynn, but then again, he at times couldn't see himself with Naru.

Later that night everyone decided to go out to the digging site. It was nothing like the cave in the Imperial Valley. It was just a particular place of land picked out, a somewhat jagged piece of land indeed; but it was the flattest of them all. Everyone carried the necessary equipment that was needed for the job. They would spend about an hour digging and call it quits for the day. Seta had reassured Keitaro that they wouldn't find much here, if anything. David said that Death Valley used to be a settlement area in various places for Native Americans, or Indians a very long time ago, that was the only lead they had. Keitaro found that he was slightly out of shape for he had taken that whole day to rest after Seta's sparring. Keitaro's digging was halted as he heard someone speak out to him.

"Keitaro, was it?" Robert said from behind. Keitaro stopped to look at Robert. His black hair was slightly mangled from the air borne dust; he gave a cocky smile as he approached.

"Yes?" Keitaro said. Robert began digging about 5 feet away from Keitaro. Robert began to dig with his spade, and then continued.

"I'm really glad you got into this field ya know? Archeology seems to be a field that gets smaller in interest every year," Robert said. Keitaro smiled, as he also began to dig more as well.

"Seta said I had a knack for it, so you might say Seta was the one that got me involved," Keitaro said. Robert stopped to examine his work, and then continued.

"Irregardless of what Jake there said, always remember this mate, no matter what field of study you go to, and no matter how much the world has to offer, remember that loved ones and friends come first," Robert said turning toward Keitaro.

"Don't worry so much, you've got a whole lifetime ahead of you to decide who you want to be with, and what you want to do with your life, so take your time," Robert said. This encouraged Keitaro, because it was the first time someone gave him advice.

Keitaro was surprised, but smiled none the less.

"Sure," Keitaro said. The two returned to their digging.

January 21st

12:45 A.M

Keitaro lie in his tent that night slightly tired from his ordeal. He had a little trouble breathing in this type of environment, it was a little drier than what he's used to. Despite the fact that everyone had gone to bed that night, Keitaro couldn't sleep for some reason, maybe it was the fact that he was sleeping outside? Or maybe this place was just too quiet for his likings. Keitaro was bored so he decided to step outside his tent. He stared off into the distance, not expecting to find anything at all interesting. During their excavation, not one single artifact was found. Keitaro wasn't discouraged though, better luck next time perhaps. The cold air made a slight sweep through the area, and Keitaro sat down, looking up at the stars above. It was a very quiet night; it was that eerie type of quiet too. The stars were beautiful; it was a new moon tonight.

Keitaro seemed to lose himself in the endless void of the dark, star lit sky. There was just something about it that a man cannot describe. In archeology, you have to the whole world at your fingertips. But something like space, was just a mystery in itself. It was so quiet that Keitaro managed to hear a sound coming from one of the tents. Keitaro looked to find someone immerging from their tent. It was too dark to see at first. Whoever it was had the same idea as Keitaro, sitting down and observing the endless wonder that is the sky at night. As Keitaro's eyes adjusted, he knew that there was only one person that could be that slim. Erynn saw Keitaro as well, she was surprised, but she got up and went over to Keitaro. Keitaro blushed slightly but it could not be seen in the dark.

"Mind if I join you?" Erynn said switching to Keitaro's more comfortable language. Keitaro smiled.

"Sure," Keitaro said nervously. Erynn sat down, there was a gap in between the two. Erynn wrapped her arms around her legs, looking up at the stars with Keitaro. After some time of silence, Erynn finally spoke.

"Having fun yet?" Erynn said to him. Keitaro grinned.

"Couldn't be better, I just can't get enough of these excavations," Keitaro said smiling. Erynn smiled too. Their was more silence, as if the two individuals had nothing more to say. But something had been bugging Keitaro all day.

"Why did you come along with us?" Keitaro asked, looking confused. Erynn rested her chin on her knees, with her arms around her legs. She had a blank stare on her face, the same one that she showed to Keitaro at the time when they didn't get along.

"I………hate being alone," Erynn said looking down. Keitaro was curious. She had Jody to keep her company, and yet, she put on a pretty good act in showing that she wasn't affected by her father leaving all the time. Perhaps, Erynn wasn't as strong of a person as Keitaro had thought.

"You know, I never did thank you enough," Erynn said still looking up. Keitaro looked in her direction.

"For what?" Keitaro asked, Erynn shifted her stare, looking upward.

"If you hadn't come along, I would still be at resentment over my father," Erynn said. Keitaro looked surprised.

_Erynn..._

"You don't need to thank me," Keitaro said smiling. Erynn shook her head slowly.

"No, I don't know what would have happened to me, if you hadn't come along," Erynn said looking Keitaro in the eye. Her eyes shimmered, it appeared as if they were the only source of light other than the stars in the sky. Her eyes then looked saddened, as she turned her eyes away.

"I…I miss her…so much…I wish…" Erynn said, there was something about her voice, it sounded as if she was going to start crying. Keitaro had a saddened look in his eye.

"Erynn…." Keitaro said. Suddenly he felt warmness, he could feel Erynn's hand rest shyly on his own. Keitaro winced slightly, but he would not jerk away. Erynn's warm hand embraced Keitaro's. She looked at him with teary eyes. Keitaro himself felt like crying, but he held his own. Keitaro leaned over and embraced Erynn in his arms. She cried silently, tightening the embrace on Keitaro. Her body was warm, and she was trembling.

Keitaro closed his eyes, as a tear rolled down his face.

_It must be so hard on her_

To be continued.

_Authors Note: Hey everyone, Ein here with your next chapter. I was caught in a brain freeze on trying to get this chapter out. I'm planning this as I go. For my 1st fanfic, I've got to say this will probably be my hardest. Dimitri, thanks for checking up on me, I'm glad I at least have one person worried about me. Again thanks for the reviews and Dimitri for his pre-readings. Next up is February, and this time I've got some idea's brewing. Peace._

_Prereader Note: I'm pretty sure I can speak for everyone when I say that we are all going to jump him for_

_The earlier Keitaro and Erynn things… I was so expecting… sigh anyways; I'm out as well._

_--Dimitri Plabato of the dark icon writers_

_Author's defense to prereader: Hey this is rated pg 13, there's only so much I can do! Unless I change my story rating. _


	9. Paradise For Her

Keitaro's Return

Chapter 9

((Text)) – prereader note

Text -Authors Note

Month 4

February 3rd

The hallways of Hinata Sou were unmistakably quiet for once; there were no sounds to be heard. No screaming Keitaro for once , no obnoxious yelling coming from Naru ((Thank Gawd…)). Nothing but absolute silence. But to the trained ear of Kaolla Su, there was quite a bit to be heard. For example, there was an occasional sound of hiccups coming from Kitsune's room, indicating that she had indeed had one to many to drink and had gone into drunkenness again! The crickets were a slight problem in Su's quest, they were loud enough to muffle a simple footstep, and if ANYONE spotted Su it would be mission failure. Naru's room was absent of any sound at all, she was probably studying or something. Su turned the corner slowly making sure there was nothing to be heard coming from Shinobu's room. She had to be careful! The only one that was more silent then her was Motoko, and knowing her, she could be anywhere. Su listened more intently.

Nothing, it was clear to go.

Su knew that she had back up, she had a device that was attached to her wrist, if needed, she could call for backup whenever she liked. However she felt as if this method was a last resort. She scaled the walls silently nearing close to Kitsune's room. She could still hear the drunken fox talking to herself. There was more then enough evidence to conclude that if Kitsune was talking to herself, then she probably couldn't see straight either, but Su wasn't going to take any chances. There were two options from this point. Su could activate her active camo feature that was build into her disguised watch as well. But it used way too much battery power. She smiled playfully. She would just have to improvise.

She stood on the right of the doorway, completely out of sight from Kitsune's viewpoint. She then leaned down, positioned herself in a handstand formation, which exposed her white cotton panties. She then proceeded to push herself completely off the ground, arching her body to where she flew right over Kitsune's doorway, completely unseen, then landed gracefully on the other side, without making a sound. She scanned the dark hallways; the only light that was visible was coming from the pale moonlight that partially shattered the darkness through the hallway windows. Su then headed downstairs. As soon as she reached the downstairs area, she knew that now was the time for plan B.

There was no way she could reach her destination without being seen by someone, if just by walking in. So there was another alternative. She stealthily approached the living room, and found the nearest closet. According to Intel, there was a hidden entrance that would lead to her objective. She entered the closet, closing the door. Without looking up, Su jumped up and grasped onto something from above, it was a secret passage that was one of many that led to various places around the dormitory. Su lifted herself up.

The area was completely dark, but Su knew the area so well, that she didn't need light as her guide. She proceeded down the darkened tight crawlspace. She then went forward 20 more feet, and then dropped down 6 feet, landing gracefully. After that she went forward a little more then hastily turned to the right. She removed the artificial wall, which was plank sized. Then crawled forward ever so silently. She had reached her destination. Now was the time to call for backup. She pressed a button on her wrist device, which appeared to the normal eye, to be an ordinary watch. But it was far from it, the wrist device started to glow red, and then faded.

From the kitchen, Shinobu happily hummed a song to herself as she waited patiently for the food to cool down, before calling everyone down for dinner. She turned to open the refrigerator door, and returned all of her supplies to its proper place. Suddenly she heard as if someone was running, then the sound of a loud thud, she quickly looked over to find Sarah lying on the ground clutching at her ankle, sobbing. Shinobu quickly rushed over to aid her fallen friend.

"Sarah what happened, are you alright?" Shinobu said as she leaned down to examine Sarah's injury. There didn't appear to be any bruising, or no possibility of swelling. But Sarah's cry was evidence enough, of the injury.

"Sniff, Sniff I was running…sniff and I twisted my ankle!" Sarah said crying while trying to get her words straight. Shinobu looked sympathetic. But little did Shinobu know, what was REALLY going on here! Shinobu was so into the hurt Sarah, to notice the oven door slowly opens. As the oven door opened, a slim dark tanned arm reached out, grabbing the pots of food from the stovetop, then slowly taking them in and with that the stove closed back.

"Now Sarah, you know not to run through the house! It's dangerous and you might get hurt, you know that," Shinobu said trying to act the part of the parental unit. Sarah winced, but her eyes saw that her mischievous commander had succeeded in her raid. She smiled weakly, playing her part.

"I'm sorry, I promise not to run through the house anymore," Sarah said putting on an innocent cute expression. Sort of like a puppy dog when he wants attention. Shinobu smiled.

"Are you ok now?" Shinobu asked now standing, while looking down. Sarah got up slowly and smiled.

"Yep!" Sarah said, with that she casually walked off. Smiling devilishly as she turned her back. Shinobu shook her head with her eyes closed, as she walked toward the stove. She casually opened her eyes and was about to scream out "dinner's ready," to everyone, but the absence of the food was more than likely what caused Shinobu's eyes to bulge. Shinobu knew unquestionably, who the culprit was.

From Su's vast jungle like room, Su and Sarah could already hear Shinobu yell for Su. But Su had already barricaded the door. Another mission success.

"Nya ha ha! This is so much easier without Keitaro around!" Su said as she began devouring the rice. Sarah was in charge of downing the bowl of miso soup, and then the fortune cookies would be last.

"Yeah that dork would wonder the hallways mindlessly, as if he was deep in thought!" Sarah exclaimed. At the mentioning of Keitaro, Su blushed slightly. Now losing her carefree attitude.

"Hey, do you think Keitaro will come back?" Su said looking at Sarah. Sarah looked surprised to hear that from someone like Su. Sarah grinned.

"He's as unpredictable as papa, knowing Keitaro, I really don't know, you've seen how he gets when it's artifact this and artifact that! He and papa are dorks through and through," Sarah said. Su smiled.

"I hope he does come back," Su said finishing off the rest of the rice.

February 5th

There was no light, there was no sound, there was only the surrounding aura that was the power of the human soul. Keitaro sat on the ground of the weight room meditating. He had learned from Erynn that training the body is not nearly as important, as training the mind. Both were hand in hand, without a strong mind, you cannot harness what you have learned; you have no control; and your body is useless without it. With a strong mind, you must have physical power, not necessarily to out-strengthen your enemy, but to keep your body strong in good healthy shape. The process of mediation was to clear all thoughts and feelings out of you mind. You feel nothing, hear nothing, and see nothing, yet you are completely aware of your surroundings. Keitaro's mind was clear of all thoughts. He sensed a disturbance as he could feel the floor barely vibrate. He slowly opened his eyes, allowing his sight to readjust to the lighting in the area. He immediately spotted Jody, peering into the weight room, as if looking for someone.

"What is it Jody?" Keitaro said looking at the orangutan smiling. Jody rushed forward, and sat down promptly in front of Keitaro. She then used her fists to softly hit the floor. Then covered her eyes as if she was hiding herself. Keitaro tried his luck on interpreting what it was she wanted.

"You're playing hide and seek with Erynn?" Keitaro said smiling. The orangutan got excited and began jumping up and down, she then tugged at Keitaro's arm.

"What's that? You can't find her? Well I can't help you! It's against the rules!" Keitaro said. Jody didn't seem to care for she continued to tug at Keitaro's arm, willing to find her hidden friend with haste. Keitaro finally stood.

"Alright, alright I'll help you," Keitaro said. Jody clapped her hands together as she began leading the way out of the weight room. Keitaro had a hunch where she could be hiding.

"_The only ground movements I felt was Jody coming up the stairs, so there's no way Erynn could be up here too, I would have felt her approach." _

Jody cautiously followed Keitaro downstairs, Erynn must be hiding in a spot where Jody cannot catch on to her scent that well. So Keitaro had some ideas in his head.

"Now where's the one place I usually find Erynn without much warning," Keitaro asked out loud. Jody looked up to her partner wondering what he had in mind to find Erynn. Keitaro searched the downstairs hallway and listened intently, he heard nothing. But he decided that the downstairs area was the best place to start. Keitaro opened the door to Seta's room. There was a bed that had no opening at the bottom, so Erynn couldn't possibly hide under there. He closed the door. Next was Eric's room, he opened the door to that room, both Keitaro and Jody peered inside.

Eric' s room had the same layout as Seta's, it had the same bed with no opening at the bottom. There wasn't much place for Erynn to hide in here, Eric's room had nothing but paintings and paintings that filled his walls with fashionable decorum. The closet would be way too small for Erynn to fit in. Keitaro closed the door to Eric's room.

Keitaro turned around and shuddered, he had plum forgotten that there were two bathrooms on the downstairs area HOW COULD HE? One on the right, and one on the left. Erynn could be in one of those bathrooms, and we ALL know what happens when the carefree Keitaro walks into a bathroom! Left or right, it felt like Keitaro was on a quest to find the right door, if he was lucky, Erynn would not be in either of the two. However Keitaro had that adventurous mind, one door; could lead to certain doom. Keitaro decided that he was going to take his chances and roll the dice. He picked the left bathroom, which for some reason both bathroom doors were closed! So you can't really tell if there really is someone in there or not! Keitaro flipped the light switch, instantly his mind made out all the familiar things inside, the tub that Erynn liked to bathe in from time to time heh heh ((and you called your readers pervs?)) the toilet, and the white shiny sink . Keitaro's scanned the room, and found nothing, no signs of life. He turned the lights out, and closed the door.

Door #2, certain doom, or get away clean and safe. Keitaro got really nervous as he approached the second bathroom. He clutched the doorknob; shaking slightly. Jody was curious at Keitaro's hesitation. The door gave way to an eerie screech, indicating that either someone needed to oil the hinges, or this was clue enough to "certain doom." He turned the lights on, and found……….nothing, no signs of life, no traces of Erynn being here in quite awhile. Keitaro let out a huge breath of relief. Jody tugged at Keitaro's arm, indicating that she was trying to tell him something. Keitaro looked over to Jody.

"Don't worry, we'll find her," Keitaro said rubbing the orangutan's head, Jody smiled. After his suspenseful experience, Keitaro was about to turn out the lights and close the door, but he spotted something. He looked down at the pink rug that lied nestled right in front of the inside of the bathroom, it was slightly crooked.

_Could it be!_

Keitaro was always one to find the most interesting things no matter what situation he was in. He approached the rug, and bent down to examine it.

_It looks as if someone was in a hurry to……._

Keitaro's question was immediately answered as he looked up. Erynn was in a leg splits position, using the wall as leverage as she hung there trying to concentrate on holding that position. Keitaro's eyes however knew it was Erynn by her trademark pink panties, which were exposed due to Erynn's lack of decent clothing. Keitaro's eyes bulged. Erynn looked down, giving Keitaro the look of "certain doom,"

"HOLY SHIT?"

The only thing Keitaro saw was Erynn release her self from the wall and land on Keitaro's shoulders, Keitaro screamed as Erynn snapped his neck all in one fluid motion ouch . Keitaro slumped to the floor, and Erynn gracefully landed on his back, Keitaro now twitching. Jody looked upset. She grumbled slightly as she looked at Erynn.

"What do you mean I cheated? You were the one that got help from Keitaro!" Erynn said arguing with Jody. Jody began jumping up and down in frustration. Erynn was arguing with an orangutan, a very big one at that.

"Fine you win, technically I never did say the rules to this game!" Jody jumped up and down clapping her hands in excitement. Thanks to the now crippled Keitaro, Jody had won. Erynn looked down at her handiwork, Keitaro lie there with his neck twisted, and his body twitching uncontrollably.

Erynn helped Keitaro to his feet as she frowned at her seemingly invincible friend.

"So how did you find me anyways?" Erynn said looking at the now sore Keitaro. He rubbed his neck and winced.

"Isn't it obvious! Where's the one place I always get myself beat up at?" Keitaro said trying to sustain his defense. Keitaro was after all, a man cursed with the worst luck ever!

February 7th

5:50 P.M

San Diego University of California

"The Indonesian archipelago stretches more than three thousand miles east to west and is the largest island structure in the whole world," Eric said pointing toward the huge map on the chalkboard. If it wasn't archeology they were discussing, it was definitely a wide variety of geographical lectures. Keitaro sat as his desk taking several notes, listening intently. For it was his second time attending the archeology class at the University. Seta sat on Keitaro's right side, acting as Keitaro's personal translator; that is, if he needed it. Keitaro had done a pretty good job of learning the English language in such a short time. Eventually if he ever made it back; he would have to thank Naru for all the trouble she went through to teach him personally.

"The Dutch colonized Indonesia in the early 17th century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945." Eric said. "Shortly after the defeat of Japan, Indonesia fought to claim its independence," Eric finished.

More things to write down.

Keitaro felt thrilled to finally get his studies crammed into his head. With the incident that occurred at the Tokyo University opening ceremony, Keitaro had missed going to classes, not to mention being held back a year for insufficient credits. It felt good to learn information, even if it was somewhat tedious. Keitaro had to admit, he would rather be going out and digging at some random location here in the United States, but he figured that he needed to know the world around him before he decided to rule it righteously with an iron shovel.

Eric quickly looked up at the time, "We're out of time for today, they will be a test over the following regions that we discussed in previous classes, Class dismissed," Eric said. The students got up and roamed around, grabbing their things and preparing to leave. Keitaro sat there staring at his mechanical pencil, it was…….the same one that…..

_Did you know that if two people who love each other go to Tokyo U, they'll live happily ever after. _

Keitaro couldn't hide it anymore, he had to admit that no matter how hard he had tried to fight it. No matter how much he wanted to forget about it if only temporarily. He often wondered why he came to America in the first place, sure he had the archeological benefits at his fingertips. But a whole six months away from both Hinata Sou, and Naru……it seemed like he had abandoned them. Whether guilt or worry, his mind was filled with anxiety.

"Part-timer?"

Seta gave a questioned glance as he stood up stretching. He caught the troubled look on part-timer's face. It was the same one that he used to give whenever he was about to give up on everything. Tokyo U, Naru, his promised girl……everything.

Seta placed a hand on Keitaro's shoulder, it startled Keitaro out of his perplexing trance. He looked up at his mentor, not knowing what to say. He could deny it, he could tell Seta that everything was ok, or he could say that he missed home more than anything, and that he had tried to fight the thoughts of Naru out of his head. Seta decided he wasn't going to ask questions, he gave his friend a warm understanding smile.

"Let's get going," Seta said smiling with his eyes closed. Keitaro slowly got up, grabbed his things and headed toward the door. As Eric approached, he caught Seta's glare that indicated that it was probably not best to say anything to Keitaro for the time being.

The car ride home was a subtle one. For once Seta willed himself to drive sensibly for Keitaro's sake. Eric was worried ever since class had started that day. Keitaro seemed so out of it, like he was in another world or something. This was shocking in Eric's case, he knew the happy-go-lucky Keitaro, the one that would jump at an excavation at any given moment. I guess everyone has two sides to them.

Seta turned the corner, going down a road that was smooth and smaller that the typical roads. This road was unfamiliar to Keitaro. It was a winding country road that lead to and endless fields of grass and shrubs, the sun was fading fast giving way to a beautiful sunset that seem to make the red skyline glow, almost as if God himself had set the sky ablaze. If there was heaven on Earth, this was it. No signs of life anywhere, just miles and miles of fields, a quiet unmistakable paradise. Seta hit a right hand turn, and slowly came to a stop. Keitaro looked to see Eric step out of the car with a bundle of flowers. He stared out the window in curiosity, Eric began walking toward the field of endless proportion. Keitaro looked on as Eric stopped about 50 feet from the car, kneeled down and placed the flowers down. He stood there momentarily, it looked as if he was talking.

Keitaro watched Eric in awe, wondering what he was doing. The only thing that kept Keitaro in contact of his surroundings was the smell of Seta's cigarette. Eric lowered his head, and then looked up at the sun, without flinching. He then turned around and walked back to the car. As Eric shifted his stance, Keitaro was able to see where the flowers now lie.

The gravestone of Laura Jones.

Keitaro looked down with the same saddened look that he gave Erynn on the night of the excavation. He felt pitiful, here he was getting a little upset over a little case of homesickness, and Eric was fighting a day-by-day process to keep finding a will to live. That's why Eric was always grateful to Keitaro for returning Erynn to him. Keitaro's imagined that without Erynn…Eric would have nothing left to live for. Not even the world would have enough to offer to dull one's pain. Erynn…was all that Eric had left, not even the adventurous world itself was enough to fill the endless hollow void of his battered heart. He had lost everything dear to him. It was fortunate that Keitaro had given her that gift. Now Erynn and her father had been brought together as a family, still the absence of a mother would always be there.

"Keitaro-kun?" Eric said warmly. Keitaro looked up; he didn't even realize that Seta was already in the process of driving. Eric's eyes were compassionate, for a man who had lost so much, he kept his will firm. It must have been so hard, but Eric was a very strong person.

"Yeah?" Keitaro said finally speaking. Eric smiled.

"So did you learn anything today in class?" Eric said now turning around.

"Of course I always learn new stuff in your class," Keitaro said giving his trademark smile. This finally lightened the mood. It was Seta's turn now.

"Ha! Just skip the whole historical mumbo jumbo and give me and part-timer here a shovel and let us go excavating!" Seta said laughing. Eric frowned.

"Seta! It's important for an archeologist to be historically intelligent, and that's what I'm doing for the boy," Eric said shouting at his naïve friend. The two continued to argue and bicker on and on about which is more important for the boy. Keitaro smiled, he was glad to have friends like them. Suddenly the car jolted upwards, Seta had apparently hit a median and sent the car flying through the intersection.

"Seta! Watch the road and drive sensibly!" Eric said in shock at the crash dummy reject that is Seta. Seta just smiled. Keitaro could already feel the car accelerate as Seta resumed his "normal" driving, which by normal that is indeed awarded the worst understatement ever! Eric and Seta continued to bicker.

Keitaro couldn't have better friends. With the exception of a cop to pull over Seta, for his improper driving at ninety plus miles an hour. ((Aka… Haruka Urashima…))

9:00 P.M.

The cool air gave way to the familiar serenity that is the countryside here in San Diego. He sat out on the upper deck scanning the horizon for nothing in particular. For the first time in a while, he was bored. There wouldn't be another excavation for a little while, and that meant no digging, no exploring, or anything of that nature. Seta wouldn't tell him the details of the next excavation; he said it was a "secret," whatever that meant.

"I really should apologize to Eric, I could have showed more interest in his class today instead of daydreaming," Keitaro said as leaned on the edge of the deck. Keitaro heard footsteps from behind. Erynn approached him from his left side, Keitaro didn't even look at her.

"Well what are you doing out here all alone?" Erynn said smiling playfully. Keitaro looked toward her direction, he said nothing, staring into her placid green eyes, his mind was blank. Her black long hair flowed freely in the soft subtle wind. Her eyes now shifted into curiosity, wondering what this dork was thinking. His eyes shifted back toward the upholding darkness of the horizon. Erynn had never seen Keitaro like this before, she didn't know what to say.

"Keitaro, what's wrong," Erynn said looking at him sympathetically, her voice was soft and kind. Keitaro suddenly felt embarrassed. He blushed slightly, and held a hand behind his head laughing.

"It's nothing ha ha ha! It's just that…." Keitaro stopped smiling and looked at Erynn in the eyes. "I'm feeling a little homesick," Keitaro said.

"I see…." Erynn said. She didn't really know what to say to help cheer him up. Erynn wasn't necessarily good as a person with words. Since she never had been away from home, she didn't know the feeling. But it was obvious that Keitaro had good friends back home, friends that made Keitaro feel this feeling of constant insecurity. She shyly went around Keitaro and hugged him from behind, he could already feel her breasts rub against his back. This undoubtedly made Keitaro very nervous, he blushed slightly.

"Erynn what are y…." Keitaro asked not moving he blushed even more, his heart skipped a beat or two. Erynn tried to form the words to say. He could feel her head rest upon his back.

"The Keitaro I know wouldn't let something like a little case of home sickness get to him, the Keitaro I know gives a smile even when things are going wrong. So hang in there ok?" Erynn said shyly. Keitaro could hear his inner voice speak to him.

_She's right you know_

Keitaro smiled, but Erynn did not see it. "Thanks," Keitaro said. Erynn released herself from Keitaro. Keitaro turned around to face her.

"I'm getting ready to cook dinner, would you like to help?" Erynn said blushing. Keitaro smiled.

"Well, um," Keitaro started. Erynn suddenly gave a look of maliciousness, her eyes seemed to glow red.

"WHAT? How dare you think about it! You still owe me from thanksgiving now you're going to help me cook dinner!" Erynn said grabbing Keitaro by the neck and lifting him above the ground.

_OH DEAR GOD! _

Keitaro struggled while being held by the neck, he let out a slight laugh, "Ok Ok, I can walk you know," Keitaro said. Erynn let him down while smiling sheepishly.

"Keitaro?" Erynn said stopping. Keitaro stopped to look at her.

"Yeah?" Keitaro said, she blushed slightly.

"Do you know what next week is?"

Keitaro thought for a moment, but couldn't find an answer to the riddle at hand. He shook his head curiously, waiting for an answer. Erynn giggled slightly.

"It's Valentines Day," Erynn said.

Keitaro instantly hit the ground as the 2-ton hit him in the head. Erynn looked down as Keitaro's eyes were spinning.

_Valentines Day. NO! I TOTALLY FORGOT! _

To Be Continued.

Authors Note: Hey everyone, Ein here. Well I'm getting caught up in my thoughts here, and I believe I've got the rest of this story at my fingertips, a few things I need to sort out and I'll be set to finish my first fanfic. I receiving more and more reviews Which is always appreciate Thanks for those. My pre-reader Dimitri, a pleasure as always. Next up is Valentines Day, HEHEHEHEHE, poor Keitaro! Catch ya later!

Prereader Note: -singing- Secret Agent Su! What she wouldn't do for some tama-chan based stew!

Oh sorry, hey Dimitri here how's it going? This was a pretty good chapter, we can all feel the romance

Between Erynn and Keitaro heating up, and I've been waiting for that! Personally I can't wait for the next chapter.

SO HURRY UP AND DO IT EIN BEFORE I BREAK IN YOUR HOUSE WITH AN ARMY OF TAMAS!

"Got My!"

Authors Defense To Prereader: OH NO NOT A TAMA ARMY, Damn! And I just got done installing an Anti-Spy system for my house (those damn ninja's!), and my house wouldn't stand up against an arsenal of Turtles! Well folks I better get the next chapter out before I get turtified.


	10. Valentine Misfortune

Keitaro's Return

Chapter 10

February 12th

2:30 P.M

The mid afternoon sun gave way to another beautiful day at Hinata Sou. The wind was barely making its way across the grass. It was a nice gentle day, even Hinata Sou's stealthy "watch dog" thought so too. She swung her katana in an arc, using the same over head arc that she always used to keep her strength in-line. She didn't have to count; her mind already knew when she had done the correct amount of swings for the day. Her face ceased emotion, with the exception of an empty smile that was Motoko's typical gesture.

As much as she hated to admit it to herself, the absence of the perverted landlord had affected her as well. Ever since Keitaro was gone, her ability to keep her guard up on a 24 hour basis due to paranoia; had diminished severely. She apparently found this out when Su herself snuck up on her one time, this of course, is almost impossible to do!

One thousand eight hundred and twenty seven

Motoko counted out in her mind while swinging her sword at her invisible enemy. Since Keitaro was gone, it was up to Motoko to sort of……take care of everyone. Naru was too out of it, or so it seemed, maybe it was because of Tokyo U? Kitsune seemed to be the only one not affected by Keitaro's sudden departure. Of course, no one could tell what Kitsune was thinking in the first place. Su and Sarah were just as hyper as ever, although Motoko had to admit she could hear Su cry for her older brother in her sleep sometimes. Shinobu tried to keep her energetic optimism at its highs, but she also couldn't help find herself accidentally cooking too much food, forgetting that there was no hungry Keitaro. Mutsumi had not changed at all, she was still the accident prone unfortunate girl she had always been.

One thousand nine hundred and eleven

Everyone seemed to put on a good disguise of their feelings of Keitaro's departure. But Motoko herself had on the best of all disguises, she did not let anyone……know how much it meant to her on a personal level. Motoko had found herself at times thinking about Keitaro. The kind caring Keitaro, who had helped her defeat her sister with a broken leg no less!

"Ni No Tachi," Motoko muttered slightly under her breath.

She could not forget that somehow, Keitaro's advice helped her to finally succeed in unleashing Ougi Zangan Ken Ni No Tachi. If one hundred people were lined up in a single row, the sword technique would only smite the evil, and leave the innocent without a scratch. A truly impressive move indeed. Was it a mere coincidence that Keitaro was the one that helped her? Or was she destined to figure the technique out for herself without him? Nevertheless, credit is given, when credit is due.

Not to mention this was the same Keitaro who also helped establish some grounds on Motoko's womanhood. Although Motoko was reluctant at first. So many things, this once perverted landlord had done for her. But for what? Motoko had done nothing to deserve such kindness. All she ever did to greet the Kanrinin was a taunting of how worthless he was, or a simple slash of an energy wave to send him flying. Yet, he kept his will strong, and he always smiled, he never let it bother him. As Motoko hated to admit it, Keitaro was the strongest one amongst them.

Keitaro NEVER gave up on his friends; he would always help them in one way or another. He would be there for you whenever you needed him. With all Keitaro had been through, no one understood better than him. But when it came to his own self-esteem, he would fail all the time. Motoko could not understand how Keitaro could put up a fight for others, but give up all hope for himself.

As Motoko was about to finish the last slash, she heard a noise from behind her. It had startled her out of her train of thought.

"Who's there!" Motoko demanded.

Motoko quickly swung around and released her katana, letting it fly forward as it stopped abruptly as it stabbed into a wooden support on the deck. Shinobu's eyes bulged as she witnessed the sword fly past her, coming to a halt on her left side. She dropped the basket full of laundry clothes, slightly shaking.

Motoko sighed a breath of relief; she had failed again to suspect someone from approaching. Had it been an enemy, she would have been done for.

"Mo…m…Motoko!" Shinobu drew back in fear as she approached. Motoko slowly approached Shinobu and grabbed her katana, sheathing it slowly. She bowed over to Shinobu.

"My deepest apologies Shinobu, you merely startled me that's all," Motoko said bowing. Shinobu blushed slightly as Motoko offered a hand for her to get back on her feet. Shinobu took her hand and was now back on her feet.

"Ano…..Kitsune said that the hot springs are clean now. So if you want to go take a bath, it's open now," Shinobu said quietly. Motoko closed her eyes and let out a smile.

"Thank you Shinobu, that is an excellent idea," Motoko said patting the girl on the head. Shinobu simply smiled and picked up the basket of clothes, retrying her attempt to hang them all up.

Motoko headed downstairs to the bathroom. She untightened the sash on her uniform, revealing the wrappings that helped to minimize the size of her breasts. She observed them closely and was satisfied, they had not grown any. As a female, these necessities were only important for one thing, and that was to help support an infant that is unable to feed for itself. Motoko sometimes wished she didn't have them to begin with. She never could imagine herself as a parent, let alone married. What was the point of having something that she was never going to use? As a warrior her job was to preserve peace through everlasting justice, Motoko imagined herself doing this for the rest of her life.

She undressed completely, now only covered by a small towel. She slid open the door, feeling the hot steam across her body. She looked around; there was no one here yet. Usually, Naru or Kitsune were the first there, but this time it looked as if Motoko was going to have some peace with herself. She stepped into the invigoratingly hot waters of the spring. She sat there for a moment, letting her mind rest from today's ordeal.

Motoko observed the area around the springs, despite the fact that Kitsune had cleaned it, it still lacked that "Keitaro touch." For a complete failure that was Keitaro, he did have some talent. Motoko heard the door slide open. Kitsune entered the spring with her cunning fox like stare.

"So Motoko, what do you think of my cleanup duty," Kitsune said smiling. Motoko wasn't much impressed.

"Sloppy really, you should have really paid attention to how Keitaro did it," Motoko said with her eyes closed as well.

"Ah details, details. It doesn't matter, knowing that klutz has not concept of pain whatsoever, he even day dreams while he cleans the place, so it's no wonder he gets this place clean!" The fox said opening one eye, spotting Naru opening the side door. Motoko knew at this point that Kitsune was planning something.

"Naru, it's almost Valentines Day, looks like were going to go without giving chocolates to anyone this year," Kitsune said smiling. Naru rolled her eyes, indicating annoyance and knowing exactly where this conversation was leading.

"Look if you're going to imply that you miss Keitaro, then get it out now!" Naru said as she slowly drenched herself in the hot waters. Kitsune grinned.

"Keitaro? Why would I bring that up, I was implying Valentines Day? What brought Keitaro up eh Naru?"

Kitsune gave a devilish smile. Knowing that she was trying to turn the tables on Naru.

"As if! You were just trying to get me to mention Keitaro, just so you could make fun of me like you always do," Naru said blushing slightly. Kitsune decided to get straight to the point.

"Just admit it Naru, you miss Keitaro, and you're not willing to admit it," Kitsune said looking toward Naru. Motoko tried not to get involved in such affairs. There was no stopping the two once they engaged in verbal warfare.

"I'll tell you what I'm willing to admit, that you are a totally nosy," Naru exclaimed, she then continued. "What about you Kitsune, let's share your thoughts on Keitaro,"

Kitsune smiled, she knew she DID NOT have any problems whatsoever involving talk of Keitaro.

"Of course, I miss Keitaro, life around here has lost its spunk! Hell, I bet even Motoko here misses Keitaro too!" Kitsune turned to Motoko, grinning slightly. Naru was also curious to hear Motoko's point of view. Motoko opened her eyes calmly and spoke.

"Despite the fact that he is untrustworthy at times and a complete lecher. A place such as this requires the presence of a Kanrinin. I think Keitaro has done an adequate job, yet his absence……..is slightly uneventful." Motoko adequately put. Kitsune smiled.

"You see Naru, even Motoko misses Keitaro!" Kitsune said smiling. Motoko blushed immensely, she slightly stammered.

"Now hold on! I never said….." Motoko started. Kitsune however, was not finished.

"Too embarrassed to just say huh? Oh well, two more months or so and Keitaro will come back! So no worries there!" Kitsune grinned. Naru stood up now obviously more pissed off.

"If you'll excuse me," Naru got out of the springs and headed inside. Motoko decided it was best to join her. Both Motoko and Naru left, leaving Kitsune in her now private spring. Kitsune kicked back.

"Ah, I know exactly what to say to get the bath all to myself!" Kitsune said grinning.

That Same Day, 5:30 P.M

University Of California

"Keitaro be extremely careful with that one, Seta already damaged most of it from his driving trip over here!" Eric exclaimed while shaking his fist in annoyance.

Keitaro smiled. He knew that he had experiences with this before, however Sara had not helped in Keitaro's goal to restore most of Seta's artifacts in the past. Keitaro smiled to himself. This job was easy, and for someone like Keitaro; he was a natural. Cleaning and repairing old artifacts. Keitaro carefully cleaned the pot with a delicate stroke of his brush. Call this a part time job, Keitaro could only laugh. Ever since his gift to Erynn on Christmas Day, Keitaro was in need of a job. Who would have thought that Eric would be kind enough to offer him work? 3 days a week, cleaning artifacts and the pay was good too. Keitaro dipped the brush in the specially made water. Cleaning artifacts, could not be done by no amateur, the chemical content of the water used for cleaning had to have a low level PH level, if not, degradation could occur in the artifact over a length of time. He carefully ran the wet brush across the intricate designs of an old pot that looked to be several hundred years in age. This was just another part of the archeological experience. Once the artifacts were cleaned, they would go back on display; almost good as new.

"Once your finished with that one Keitaro, we'll call it a day," Eric said while organizing his papers. He stacked the papers neatly and looked toward Keitaro and continued.

"You did rather well on the test that was given yesterday Keitaro," Eric said in high appraisal. Keitaro slightly blushed; he knew that despite the fact at times he wasn't good at tests; he had only one person to thank for that.

"I studied all night for that one; I have to admit your tests aren't easy," Keitaro said. Eric smiled. He knew that archeology wasn't an easy field. The tests were designed to sort out the one's who were serious about archeology and the one's who just didn't have the patience. Eric then remembered something.

"Ah yes, tomorrow is Valentines Day, I nearly forgot," Eric murmured slightly, abruptly changing the subject. The sound of a breaking pot could be heard. Eric turned to find the current vase that Keitaro was working on in shambles. Keitaro's glasses were shining pure white, from his utter shock. Eric's eyes widened.

"Damn that Seta! Just when you had that pot done Seta goes and breaks this one from his bad driving habits!" Eric said shaking his fist, his brow also twitching. Keitaro wasn't at all shocked that Eric was sometimes as oblivious as Seta; he was more concerned about Eric's last reminder.

Valentines Day.

It was true tradition in Japan, that on Valentines Day, the girls would give chocolates to the guys, and then later on eventually the guys would reimburse. But America's tradition was different, and it caught Keitaro off guard. This year, both male and female would give their gifts, and according to Seta. Valentines Day was a day for lovers in America. In Japan, there were choices, chocolates for friends, or chocolates for lovers. Take your pick. There wasn't even a guarantee that Erynn would give him something in return.

Eric rustled to gather his things; he now stood up from his desk. "I wouldn't worry too much Keitaro," Eric said sensing Keitaro's thoughts. "As long as it's from the heart, you have nothing to worry about," Eric said smiling.

Keitaro gathered his things as well, he was still uncertain about the whole ordeal, but Eric's words were sincere just as he was.

"Thanks," was all Keitaro said. 

Eric's House

Later that Night 7:00 P.M 

It was a quiet night. There was no one at home yet. Seta had gone out to teach class at the University. Erynn and Eric were out grocery shopping. This left the desperate Keitaro with only one chance to get his task completed. He made sure that his assumption was correct by checking the entire house, bathrooms and all. When he was convinced, he proceeded to the kitchen.

Armed with his trusty Chef's apron and his cooking skills from previous fake chocolates time and time again. Chef Keitaro was ready! (Author now sweat drops along with his pre-reader) Now for the matter at hand. What to bake for Erynn?

"Hmm let's see, a traditional cake might do the trick, but Erynn doesn't seem like the cake eating type," said Keitaro pacing back and forth through the kitchen. Keitaro paced for a least a couple of minutes, then Jody approached from the living room. She had been bored from the lack of playmates in the house, she watched as Keitaro paced in a concerned matter.

"What to you think Jody," He turned to look at his well mannered friend. Jody clasped her hands together in a ball like formation. Keitaro began to pace again.

"Yes yes, something small, not too fancy, maybe diet chocolate would do the trick," Keitaro said a loud. Keitaro imagined in his mind what Erynn's response would be to diet chocolate. Erynn's eyes flared with the fires of hell. You might as well call her Satan in this particular mood.

"DIET CHOCOLATE! ARE YOU SAYING I'M FAT!" Erynn exclaimed. Keitaro could already seem himself playing pinball against the walls. An occasional tilt might be nice to stop this.

Keitaro instantly hit the floor and sweatdropped, his face showing unspeakable horror. Jody watched in amusement at Keitaro's reactions. He quickly got up, resuming his pace and his serious expression.

"No, no, I'm thinking too much, something simple, rich chocolate, hmm…..yes now for a shape," Keitaro said out loud again. There were many shapes to go with. A heart shaped chocolate was too typical and far from original. Traditional bars were also too similar. Then there was chocolate that could be made small enough for several individual pieces to fit in one box. Keitaro's mind finally gave in from his intense thinking.

"Aaaaugghh! What am I going to do! I need something unique, something different for a change!" Keitaro said grasping his head while rolling around on the carpet of the kitchen. Jody watched again, not knowing what exactly Keitaro was overstressing about.

Suddenly Keitaro had a strange idea, he remembered what Narusegawa did for him one Valentines Day not long ago. She had "sort of" made him a Liddu-kun chocolate thing.

"More like a deformed Liddu-kun but uh….." Keitaro said aloud. But now more scary thoughts entered his mind as if Erynn wasn't bad enough. If Keitaro would have told Naru that her chocolate wasn't the best, well a quick smack on the head with a hammer would have been Naru's solution to the problem. Keitaro fought back him memories, trying to keep his mind focused on the present issue.

"Alright then, time to get started," Chef Keitaro said rummaging around the kitchen for the necessary ingredients. (The thought of Keitaro being on a Chef Boyardee can is scaaarryyy! LoL)

February 14th

9:00 A.M

Keitaro awoke early the next morning. Erynn had been bugging him all night about what he had got her. Keitaro couldn't complain, one moment it was a near fatal situation during Christmas, then Erynn was showing her gratitude through her warm gentle smile. He arose from his bed to observe the day. He arose and opened the sliding glass door leading to the back porch. Not a cloud in the sky, no signs of gloomy weather, and every signs that today was going to be a beautiful day.

"It's nice out isn't it?" Seta's voice could be heard from Keitaro's left side. Keitaro glanced and saw Seta sitting on the rooftop which was about seven feet up. He looked up to greet his mentor and best friend with a grin.

"Yeah…I think I'm going to go out jogging and enjoy the day," Keitaro said looking on toward the bright sunlight. Seta jumped down suddenly and landed in front of Keitaro.

"Well if you're going into town, Eric has asked if you could run an errand for him," Seta said giving his typical smile. Keitaro looked up at Seta.

"What is it?"

Seta pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket, along with a cigarette to smoke. He first put the drag into his mouth then gave Keitaro the paper.

"On that sheet is an address, It's a flower shop, Eric ordered some flowers for David and his family, the second address on that sheet is where David lives," Seta said. Keitaro looked down at the sheet. It was about 2 hour quest in town and back by foot. But if all went well he be back in time for lunch.

"Alright, I'll get going then," Keitaro said. Seta lit his smoke with a smile, and gave a facial gesture indicating a simple "thanks." Keitaro headed back inside. He then got dressed in his jogging clothes which consisted of shorts, and a long sleeve shirt, since it was a little chilly out. He ran downstairs, there was no sign of Erynn or Eric this early in the morning. This was safe to say, very odd, indeed.

As Keitaro headed out the door, he began to stretch to get the tired feeling out his muscles, and to warm up his muscles to prevent any unnecessary strain that may be endured from a vigorous jog. But little did Keitaro know, he was being watched. There was slight movement coming from Eric's front lawn bushes, this was not seen by Keitaro, who was happily humming a song. Keitaro started off, engaging in a steady stride that would later turn into a heavy jog. As Keitaro ran out of sight, the person that was watching Keitaro began to follow, trying to keep a good distance in between them. 

About forty five minutes later Keitaro was in town. He could tell from the excessive amount of noise that littered the air of San Diego. Not to mention the illustrious buildings, all of which were gigantic. To think that Seta says there are buildings larger than these. He approached a stop sign that was the boundary line that led from the country road, out onto the main road, which luckily, there wasn't that much traffic considering the hour of day.

Keitaro's stalker kept up the whole way, whoever this person was, they definitely were in good shape. The unknown figure slowed down as Keitaro made his stop at the main road. He looked puzzled as he took out the sheet of instructions that was given to him by Seta. Keitaro took this moment to stop for a second to get a small break. He stood whistling happily, enjoying the day in which was unlike any other normal day. He turned around nonchalantly, observing the peaceful sky without the brightness of the sun in his eyes. All quiet, there was no one to be seen.

Keitaro's stalker was hanging stealthily from a tree, trying her best to avoid detection. Erynn was hanging upside down from the tree like a monkey, obviously Jody her a few things. Keitaro let out a loud sigh, and continued walking. When Erynn was satisfied that she was out of site, she released her self from the tree, and fell a good six feet before reaching the ground. She continued her silent pursuit.

"Keitaro…..What could you be up to?" Erynn thought to herself while running after him. Erynn was indeed curious of why exactly Keitaro didn't give her a Valentines Gift this morning, because she definitely had one for him! Maybe Keitaro was too poor to afford a gift because of Erynn's earrings? She shook off her thoughts as she crossed a busy San Diego road. Luckily even if Keitaro spotted her, she didn't have her "normal" clothing on. She had her black hair up in a bun, which is something she never does unless she goes out running. Keitaro would by now, be used to seeing Erynn's long silky black hair flow freely down her back, barely covering up her uh….you get the idea.

As Keitaro made an abrupt stop, he observed his sheet of directions carefully. He scanned the area until his eyes seemed to finally find what he was looking for; he rushed forward about another block down, and went into a building. Erynn followed intently, she cautiously observed which building Keitaro took refuge to. Erynn looked up at the sign, "Rose's Flower Shop,"

"Flowers! Keitaro I didn't know you were such a gentlemen," Erynn thought to herself as her eyes sparkled in admiration. Suddenly Keitaro appeared out of the shop hastefully, which didn't give Erynn a chance to disperse from the area. She freaked out slightly, but kept her back turned away from Keitaro in hopes that he wouldn't recognize her. Keitaro didn't notice her. As a matter of fact, as soon as he was outside the store, he began to jog with the bouquet of flowers, in the opposite direction!

Erynn was dumbfounded.

"What the! Where is he going? This isn't the way home!" Erynn was now even more curious then ever! She rushed past a group of people to keep up with the speedy Keitaro. 

"Where is Keitaro?" Eric asked while reading his daily paper. Seta looked up as he removed the glowing cigarette from his lips.

"Part-timer went to go run your errand, he should be back in an hour or so," Seta said smiling. Eric placed his paper on his lap to greet Jody, as she came and gracefully sat on the couch, smiling at the site of her master.

"Strange, I haven't seen Erynn all day either," Eric said lifting his paper to cram more daily information into his brain. Although a typical parent would worry about a situation like this, however then again, Erynn wasn't a typical daughter.

"You don't think, Keitaro and Erynn are…..:" Seta grinned widely, there was a slight twinkle in his eye as he brought his hand up to his chin, pondering the list of possibilities. Eric raised an eyebrow.

"Seta you maybe twenty nine, but sometimes, you still have the maturity of an eighteen year old," Eric said knowing that Erynn wouldn't do such a thing. Seta smirked, placing the cigarette back in his mouth, his speech sounding slightly slurred.

"Ah eighteen, to be young again, I remember this one time, during the times before my Tokyo entrance exams, there was this……." Seta was rambling on and on about his stories. Some of which Eric had already heard. Eric just ignored him.

Although Eric had to admit, that ever since Keitaro's arrival in November, the two had become closer, and at times Eric was curious of just how much Erynn liked Keitaro. There was enough curiosity stirring in the air to just ask her the simple question, but Eric didn't want to interfere with anything like that. Eric looked at his watch. It was now ten o'clock. He rose from his chair.

Keitaro continued from the flower shop about two blocks down, with the curious Erynn in hot pursuit. Now she was getting angry, not to mention her mind sprouting with ideas. First the obvious, if she couldn't find out where Keitaro was heading to in about five minutes, a blunt object may be needed to throw at her carefree friend. Second, if the roses weren't for her, who were they for? Suddenly Erynn got caught up in a heavy crowd; she tried her best to squeeze through.

"Dammit Keitaro where are you…." Erynn's thought process was interrupted as soon as her eyes saw where Keitaro was next. He was sitting on the ground rubbing his head as if he had ran into something. In front of him, was a woman, she was leaning over examining the injured Keitaro. Erynn could not hear what they were saying. She watched unsurely from afar.

"I'm so sorry!" The woman said as she leaned over to help Keitaro to his feet. Keitaro smiled haphazardly as he sat on the ground trying to recollect his thoughts. Keitaro looked up to find a woman starring down at him. She looked in her mid twenties, she had long blonde hair, amber eyes that were covered with glasses, and she was well dressed, very semi formal. Her ethnic appeared to be American. Keitaro grasped as this woman appeared to look like Naru at first, but as soon as his hand blocked the sun from his eyes, he was able to see, that this was someone else. Her appearance was more nerdish than Narusegawa's Toudai disguise. Despite all that, this girl looked very familiar.

"Are you alright?" she asked Keitaro again, her voice was soft and caring. Keitaro instantly jumped up and bowed before her, obviously sorry for his collision.

"Gomei! I mean…ahem…..I apologize, it was my fault," Keitaro said still bowing. The woman slightly sweatdropped at this. His English was good alright, but his accent sounded, different. The woman smiled warmly and picked up the flowers that Keitaro had dropped. Luckily for Keitaro, in his bowed position, the girl's clothing was somewhat loose, so Keitaro slightly got a free viewing of the girl's priorities. Nerdish or not, this girl had quite a pair. Keitaro finally ceased his bowing and tried to keep his eyes from wondering aimlessly.

"To the David Williams Family," the girl read aloud as she picked up the bouquet of flowers. She was observing the tag on the wrapping. She smiled slightly.

"You must be Keitaro," She said fixing her glasses. Keitaro eyes widened.

"Eh?"

The girl ran a finger through her hair, "Nice to meet you, I'm Julie, Julie Williams," Julie said smiling. Keitaro was baffled.

"Williams! So that would make you…." Keitaro tried to add the two facts together. She handed the flowers to Keitaro.

"David would be my father," She said in high appraisal. Keitaro couldn't help but laugh. It had been a while since he saw David. Keitaro placed a hand on his chin, as if he was pondering intensely.

"Strange, your father never mentioned you," Keitaro said grinning. Julie looked slightly annoyed, as her eye brow twitched once.

"He never mentions me, he likes to mention people in person, that's just how he is," Julie said smirking. It was then that Keitaro looked down to examine the time.

Erynn stood in absolute shock as she witnessed the two carry on a conversation. Her heart skipped a beat at the moment she saw them laughing together. Suddenly Keitaro looked at his flowers and panicked, as if he had forgotten something. Before Erynn knew it, Keitaro handed the girl the flowers and ran off waving. The girl waved back as she took the bouquet of flowers, she smiled and waved back. Erynn slowly began to walk away, not knowing what to do. Keitaro ran back toward home, panicking.

"Oh God! I totally forgot to give Erynn her gift!" Keitaro had given the flowers to Julie so that she could give them to her father. Erynn wasn't the patient type, and Keitaro knew that it was going to be tough explaining to Erynn his uh, moment of carelessness. He had to get back, and fast!

Erynn didn't understand it, she felt a strange feeling in her. She could feel her heart racing through her chest, and it hurt. She hadn't felt this feeling ever. Who was that girl? Did Keitaro meet someone of importance to him at the University? Erynn soon forgot about Keitaro, and the gift that she was going to give him. She couldn't understand why she felt this way.

What did it matter to her who Keitaro was with? Did she……did she love Keitaro? Deep down she never asked herself such a question. Her life was based off of pain at the absence of her mother. But her mother taught her about love, and she told Erynn that she would know when it embraces you. She did admit that Keitaro was definitely a unique one of the bunch, and she had never actually fallen for anyone before.

She couldn't understand him. When he first arrived she wanted nothing to do with him. Nothing! But he kept smiling, and he kept trying, as if he wanted her to be happy, even if he had failed he kept trying. She gave him the ball and chain every chance she got, and yet that smile, she couldn't get that smile out of her head.

She blushed slightly as she walked slowly back home, her legs walking slowly back home. His smile was all she could see in her head. There was something about his smile, so warm, so welcoming. Any normal person would turn away from someone who gave them nothing but rejection, but Keitaro was different. Keitaro had a certain attitude that said, "Bring it on cause i'm not giving up on you, ever"

What about Keitaro? Why was he so intent on not giving up on Erynn? Did he do it just because he knew all along about her mother. Or did he also feel the same thing she was experiencing.

It was already February, and Erynn felt closer to Keitaro than anyone else in her life. He had only been here for three months, and she knew that Keitaro would leave in April, that wasn't enough time. What would her life be like if he left? Would she be able to stay on solid ground? He helped her get her life back in order, was she strong enough to do the rest?

Erynn's thoughts were shattered by the sound of a car horn. The black corvette pulled up beside Erynn. She was slightly shocked to see Seta behind the wheel.

"Erynn! Great timing, I'll give you a ride home!" Seta said strolling up beside Erynn; the corvette was slightly tilted on its two wheels. Erynn's eyes widened as she laid witness to Seta's bad driving ways. Erynn said nothing, except nod. She knew about Seta's bad ways in the field of driving, but right now, getting home to think everything over was her top priority. As soon as she got in, the corvette made a ferocious acceleration, making its way out of the grass onto the road.

"Ah what a great day for driving," Seta said grinning widely. Erynn shifted her eyes to watch the view, not phased by Seta's psychotic ways. She looked saddened, not knowing what to think anymore, her mind stuck in a labyrinth.

"Hmm, I hope Keitaro delivered that package like I asked him to," Seta said shifting his gaze to his rear view mirror. Erynn's eyes slightly widened, and then her eyes shifted downwards. It was pointless to ask, but.

"What package?" Erynn said acting as if she didn't know. Seta pulled out a cigarette; he placed it in his mouth. He knew it was impolite to smoke around females, but, Erynn didn't seem to mind.

"Eric had him deliver a bouquet of flowers to David and his family, since its Valentines Day and all," Seta said happily. Erynn looked slightly puzzled. David's family? But Keitaro gave those flowers to some girl? Something didn't add up.

"Strange, he seemed to have given the flowers to some girl and then ran off screaming," Erynn said showing hope that she misunderstood something about all of this. Seta raised an eyebrow. He then pointed to his head.

"Blonde hair, strange appearance, glasses, light brown eyes?" Seta said rambling. Erynn eyes widened.

"How did you know that?"

Seta smirked, while looking forward, to find Keitaro jogging on the side of the road. But unfortunately, Seta was going to fast to stop for him.

Keitaro didn't notice Seta driving by; his top priority was to get home quick.

"Julie must be back in town, she's David's daughter," Seta said smiling. Erynn felt a gigantic feeling of relief, she thought for sure that she had lost Keitaro to someone else, but was Erynn ready to admit that even to herself?

"I see," was all Erynn said. Seta took a quick glance toward Erynn, and then glanced back. It was a quick enough glance to see Erynn's current mood.

"You seemed relieved, did you think Keitaro had given flowers to a complete stranger, or maybe….." Seta said contemplating this situation closely. Erynn blushed immensely and shifted herself to face Seta.

"No it's not like that at all!" Erynn said trying to cover up her own lie. Seta let out a small laugh that escaped through his closed mouth. Seta caught the glare of Erynn's earring that glowed green in the sunlight. Seta then kept quiet.

"Seta?" Erynn said shyly. Seta eyes glanced toward Erynn's questioning green eyes. Seta remained silent, waiting for Erynn to continue.

"Why does Keitaro care so much? I don't understand him," Erynn said now looking away. Seta let out a sigh, as if this wasn't the first time he was asked this question. Seta threw his cigarette out the window.

"Keitaro is a very caring person, even though all his life he was never treated equally as a human being." Seta watched the road as he continued.

"He treats all of his friends equally, and whether male or female he always sticks with them no matter what," Seta said in high appraisal of his part-timer. He let out a laugh.

"Basically, Keitaro and I are quite a like!" Seta said laughing. Erynn grimaced.

"Yeah, the oblivious part," She said under her breath.

"What was that?" Seta said not catching the last part.

"Never mind," Erynn said sighing with her eyes closed. Seta continued.

"Anyways, Keitaro is a little slow, I will admit, however," Seta paused a moment and looked at Erynn.

"If you want more than just a friend from Keitaro, I'm afraid you're going to have to make the first step," Seta said looking serious. Erynn blushed slightly, not able to say anything in her defense. Seta clipped the mailbox in Eric's driveway, the mailbox flew through the air rapidly spinning, and landed into Eric's pool. Eric was sitting down in a lawn chair, he placed his newspaper down onto his lap, observed Seta's handiwork (and Seta's grin,) and began shouting.

"Dammit Seta! Your paying for that!" Eric exclaimed. Seta laughed nervously, then turned back to Erynn.

"Just think about it," Seta said.

Keitaro arrived back home about 15 minutes after Seta and Erynn's arrival. He didn't even know they left. Not to mention that he had no idea what Erynn just witnessed. He rushed to the house giving a quick wave to Eric. Eric spoke.

"Did the package arrive alright?"

Keitaro stopped suddenly to answer Eric's question, but was still running in pace while standing still.

"Yeah, no problems, gotta go," Keitaro said nervously. Eric smiled as Keitaro left.

Upstairs, Keitaro made no attempts to waste another minute. He quickly looked on his nightstand for the gift that he was to give to Erynn. He had made a chocolate, which not only took lots of thought process, but took vigor and was none the less time consuming. He had shaped the chocolate into the shape of Jody, no easy task for an amateur. He nervously knocked over his lamp in the process of grabbing what he thought to be HIS chocolate to Erynn.

He looked down and realized this was not his gift! He read the label on the box, it read.

_To Keitaro _

_From Erynn_

His eyes widened. Apparently, Erynn had already snatched Keitaro's gift. He opened the box to find a note inside.

_Keitaro_

__

Thanks for the chocolate, I had no idea you were such a talented cook. Thank you for everything. 

_Erynn. _

Keitaro looked down, Erynn had made Keitaro a chocolate, in the form of a heart. It was common; yes, but it was the symbol of love, Keitaro let out a sigh of relief, as well as a feeling of overwhelming joy. It was true that he had gotten chocolates before from females, but…..this one was different. It was from Erynn, so he felt all warm inside. He plopped down onto his bed exhausted from the day's work. It was only two in the afternoon, but he felt like he deserved a good rest.

He took a bite of the chocolate, giving an invigorating smile. It seemed to melt in his mouth, allowing him to swallow it with ease, it was sweet, but not to sweet, with just enough sugar.

"_Damn that's good…."_ Keitaro said to himself before falling fast asleep.

The door to Keitaro's room opened several minutes later. Erynn quietly approached the slumbering Keitaro with a smile on her face. She bent down next to his bed, watching Keitaro sleep carelessly away.

She removed his glasses slowly, observing his face with a smile. He was cute without his glasses, that much was clear. She placed the glasses on his nightstand, and picked up his lamp with a smile. She then turned to Keitaro, her eyes shimmering slightly. She couldn't ask for a better friend.

Erynn leaned forward shyly, her mind completely blank. She was afraid that Keitaro might wake up, but she took the chance anyway. Her face drew closer and embraced Keitaro's soft lips with her own, her eyes closed slowly. Her face blushing.

Her first kiss, her very first was now shared with him, and she wouldn't have it any other way. His lips were warm, and Erynn could still taste the chocolate on Keitaro's lips. She didn't move an inch, just a silent, passionate kiss; a kiss that would probably be remembered for the rest of her life. She released slowly, her eyes opening to observe Keitaro's face once more. Her tongue made contact with her lips, and she smiled to herself. Keitaro didn't move an inch, he was out like a light.

She turned around and was about to walk out the door, but she noticed a picture lying on top of Keitaro's nightstand. It was a picture of Narusegawa. Erynn didn't know what relationship Keitaro had back home with his fellow tenants, but as long as Erynn was in Keitaro's life, she had a chance to win his heart, if that was possible. 

To Be Continued. 

Authors Note:

Hi everyone, Once again I apologize for my lack of getting my chapters out and about on time. But things have been, um, interesting lately. First off I became a writer to the Dark Icon Writers, courtesy of my pre-reader Dimitri Plabato. I'm not much of an outdoorsman, but I definitely enjoyed a round of cave exploring with my friends, it was a blast! I definitely got a small glimpse of Keitaro's life. This chapter was long, and now the tides have finally turned as Erynn fights to understand her feelings for Keitaro. Keep the reviews coming, and you know the routine, next chapter ASAP. Dimitri, always a pleasure to have you as my pre-reader. Oh Yeah! August 2005! That means I've been with for one whole year! Yea! Until next time, later folks.

Ein Ravenwing, Now a member of The Dark Icon Writers.

Prereader Note:

Ein… we're gonna fight! You DON'T do that to me as long as I waited on her to do that! You DON'T end it right there and make me wait… it's just not right!

cries

Dimitri Plabato of The Dark Icon Writers

Authors Defense to pre-reader: Looks like I made Dimitri cry! Well it was like Legato always said, "The greater the tragedy, the greater the emotional affect," Sorry Dimitri, wait till the next chapter. Well I'm off to install a anti-tama system to prevent Dimitri from killing me!


	11. The Simple 4 Letter Word

Chapter 11

Part 3 of February

Keitaro's Return

February 15th

3:00 P.M

The darkened skies overhead showed signs of a possible storm. The wind blew with ferocity, showing the world its turbulence. The cherry blossoms were scattered through the air, then without warning, it began to rain heavily. This was, very unfortunate for Hinata Sou's perfectionist. She rushed outside the upper deck to quickly grab all of the clothes that she left out on the line, which had ALMOST been completely dry, and now Shinobu was faced with a slight crisis.

She tried her very best to untie all of the clothing from the line as quickly as possible, and then clumsily dump the clothes into the laundry basket. The wind was her worst of enemies. As she attempted to grab the last of the clothes, the wind gusted more, and knocked the clothes down to the wet floor boards. Shinobu tried to keep her enthusiasm high, but even the most optimistic person couldn't help but feel completely helpless in a situation like this. She picked up the clothes and rushed down the steps in an attempt to take shelter from the bitter rain. On the last step, Shinobu fell down on her face, with the basket flying forward.

"Auuuuu……" Shinobu picked herself up the best she could. Her Cabot shirt was already soaking wet, not to mention her glowing blue hair. She slightly sulked at her own predicament.

In times like these, she would usually have her hero by her side. He was probably the most caring person in the world, and he always placed others before himself. Keitaro taught Shinobu how to be independent, how to live for herself, but most of all, after he passed the Toudai entrance exam; Keitaro had taught her that nothing in this world was impossible. She looked over to find that luckily the basket had not tipped over, and that the clothes were still in the basket. She picked them up and went inside.

Silence

It appeared as if everyone left, Naru and Mutsumi were at the university. Motoko said something about some far away place that she was to endure several days of physical and mental training. Nobody really knew where Kitsune was, maybe at some local tavern, or maybe taking refuge to a days worth of booze in her room.

Su was probably causing large amounts of destruction in some unknown area, or scheming some diabolical plan to take over the world, with Sara of course as her second in command. There was no one home.

Well almost nobody.

Shinobu's jovial aerial friend came soaring toward her, performing a three-sixty degree spin in mid air then landing softly on Shinobu's wet shoulder, giving a warm hearted loud, "Myuu!"

Shinobu smiled and watched Tama-chan approach. When she landed on Shinobu's shoulder, she slightly nibbled on the wet cloth of her shirt. Shinobu looked toward the kitchen, placing the basket of clothes down.

"You must be hungry huh?" Shinobu said silently to her turtle friend. Shinobu walked into the kitchen grabbing a hand full of turtle food from the cabinet. She sat down at the table and held out her hand for Tama.

"Myu!" Tama exclaimed warmly as she began to nibble at her food. She was extremely grateful. Shinobu was the only normal one of the group. Kitsune would usually ignore the attention stricken turtle. Su and Sarah were more interested in the concept of 101 different ways to cook a turtle; not a very warming welcome party for _this_ turtle. Naru was either too busy too pay any attention at all due to studies, or had her mind elsewhere. Mutsumi was never around either; of course she was the only one who could talk to Tama in the first place, whether it was pure intelligence or pure delirium.

Every now and then she would fly as far as Haruka's tea shop just to fly on by for a quick hello. Unlike everyone else, Haruka was always home.

Shinobu let out a bored sigh. She had easily forgotten that her clothes were wet, and that if she hadn't changed soon, she would undoubtedly catch a cold. She placed the rest of the food down on the table for Tama to eat; the turtle looked up sadly as she began to walk away.

Shinobu ran upstairs to her room. From her room, she began to undress hastily. She paused for a brief moment to observe herself in the mirror. Unlike Motoko, Shinobu was VERY consciences about her physical development. She often felt extremely inferior to the other girls in Hinata Sou. Her age just wasn't a factor that Shinobu was going to consider, it was her growth that had her in the state of mind of just how much a woman she really was.

_I have no doubts about the woman you will become; you will be even more beautiful than Narusegawa in your own way. _

Keitaro's words struck like an endless echo streaming fluently in her mind. Was Shinobu at all depressed at the absence of Keitaro?

You'd better believe it.

Shinobu, more than anyone else was heartbroken by the temporary departure of the only man she learned to love (even if she can't admit it to others).

Shinobu believed that Keitaro would notice her more if she had more…growth, in her most vital area. Naru had always told Shinobu that men were lechers, and that they only looked at one thing when it came to a woman. But for Keitaro's exception she was wrong.

Keitaro had looked and seen Shinobu for who she was, an undeniably beautiful young lady with huge potential. More than he could ever have. Keitaro taught her that dreams were worth chasing, and that mistakes were going to be made, but you had to keep trying. The price to pay was gigantic, but the prize was definitely worth it.

Shinobu looked slightly saddened as she glanced away from the mirror, only to approach her closet to decide on what to wear. Her eyes scanned the rows of various clothing and came across her newest school uniform. She decided her uniform would have to do for now.

One thing is for sure, it wouldn't be there right now if Keitaro hadn't given her confidence she needed to overcome the most difficult obstacles in her life.

"Ara ara is anybody home?" a voice said from outside the hall. Shinobu quickly finished changing, and went out in the hall to greet her unexpected visitor. Shinobu's eyes glanced around to find out where exactly the voice was coming from. She could have sworn it was outside her doorway. That's when Shinobu spotted the disoriented Mutsumi lying on the ground smiling clumsily.

"Ano….Mutsumi-san, you shouldn't lie around like that you'll catch a cold," Shinobu said. She sweat dropped at the very sight of Mutsumi's clumsiness.

"Ah…..Shinobu, one minute it was raining and the next I ended up here?" Mutsumi said as she stood up abruptly. Mutsumi smiled incoherently.

"Would you like a cup of tea? It will warm your body up," Shinobu said softly. Mutsumi smiled and cocked her head to the side.

"Yes, I would, thank you," Mutsumi said warmly.

The tea kettle began to emit a small amount of steam, indicating that the tea was nearly finished. Shinobu turned the stove off, and began to pour the tea into two cups. She smiled as she gave one cup to Mutsumi.

"Here you go," Shinobu said shyly. Mutsumi smiled, and began to take a drink, she didn't seem much affected by the temperature, or maybe Mutsumi didn't realize it was hot? Shinobu sat down at the table, not knowing what to say to Mutsumi.

"Ara…..Shinobu-chan, where is everybody?" Mutsumi said looking around. Shinobu lightly sipped her tea to test its warmness. It was still quite hot, so she sat her tea down.

"I wish I knew, everyone seemed to have been gone since I got here earlier today," Shinobu said avoiding eye contact with Mutsumi. The fact is, Shinobu wasn't on the best terms with Mutsumi or Naru ever since Keitaro had left in the first place. Shinobu blamed Naru for Keitaro's sudden leave. Maybe if Naru would have admitted her feelings for Keitaro, maybe he wouldn't have left?

Of course Shinobu had no room to complain since she herself couldn't bring herself to do the very same thing. Then there was the conspicuously honest Mutsumi.

Keitaro and Mutsumi seemed to be the only two who really got along rather well around here. I mean, she never struck at him, she was always kind and considerate, and she was more interested in Keitaro than anyone else, or….so it seemed.

Shinobu wanted Keitaro to be happy, even if she wasn't the one he loved. But Shinobu was not happy, she knew what Keitaro went through, his rejection at the game of love, and now Naru's state of uncertainty was teasing Keitaro into a state of preoccupied insanity; sort of speak.

Perhaps Shinobu would someday admit to Keitaro her feelings for him. But would he listen? Sure she was young, and sure she didn't have the body like Naru or let alone Mutsumi, but Shinobu was kind and considerate, but for some reason Keitaro assured himself time and time again, that he didn't deserve such beauty that was the girls at Hinata Sou.

"Kei-kun should be back from study abroad soon, isn't that right Shinobu-chan?" Mutsumi said cheerfully smiling. Shinobu looked up, she smiled while she blushed. Her smile was obviously for him, Keitaro that is. Shinobu then stared at her tea-cup, not knowing what to say to Mutsumi.

"Do you miss him?" Mutsumi said unexpectedly. Shinobu almost let out a gasp, for she did not expect Mutsumi to go into the subject of Keitaro. Shinobu only nodded her head slowly, letting a small sigh escape from her lips.

"I miss him too, I especially miss how he used to help me up when I fell down a flight of stairs, or got hit by a car, but nowadays I have to fend for myself," at that comment a thought bubble appeared above Mutsumi's head, showing a funny drawing of Keitaro helping Mutsumi to her feet. Shinobu slightly sweatdropped.

"What do you miss about him?" Mutsumi asked. Shinobu shifted her gaze downward; she slightly clasped her hands together, her heart beating.

"…..everything…" She slightly muttered aloud. Shinobu's eyes slightly filled with tears. She tried to be strong all this time, but she felt like she couldn't hold it anymore. She sobbed slightly. Mutsumi slowly walked over to her, taking a chair sitting directly in front of her. She stroked Shinobu's blue hair and embraced the girl, letting her cry onto her.

"I know, I know, I miss him too, but you have to keep your chin up, Shinobu. Keitaro wouldn't want us to be crying over him," She said softly, making sure only Shinobu would hear. Shinobu stopped sobbing slightly, letting Mutsumi's words sink into her mind. It was rare for Mutsumi to speak seriously. Mutsumi slightly chuckled.

"You should tell Kei-kun your feelings when he gets back, I bet he'd be happy to know," Mutsumi said laughing. Shinobu's tears ceased suddenly, she blushed immensely, not knowing how Mutsumi knew.

"Ano…….Tell him what?" Shinobu tried to act innocent, but she ended up making eye contact with Mutsumi. Suddenly they both smiled, and then let out a laugh or two. Anybody could tell that Shinobu liked Keitaro. It's just that Shinobu didn't know that it was _that _obvious. Shinobu felt better already.

"Thank you, Mutsumi-san," Shinobu said softly, smiling to the elder girl. Mutsumi smiled, saying nothing. They both smiled to each other, knowing that their feelings for Keitaro, were obviously mutual.

San Diego California

The Same Day

5:00 P.M

On the other side of the world, it was another beautiful day at California, not at all like the weather at Hinata Sou. Normally on such a beautiful day, Keitaro would be out jogging away the day. However there was a certain incident early this morning where Keitaro almost got hit by a certain Grand Theft Auto wanna-be driver, not mentioning any names of course. Seta of course, disregarded Keitaro, and assured him that he was not aiming for him, not at all.

After that ordeal Keitaro decided that it the safest course of action were to stay indoors while Seta was out driving about at all hours of the day. Of course no place was safe from Seta's driving, I suppose Seta could get Keitaro while he was inside, but the thought of Seta driving into a house just to get Keitaro is in itself terrifying, and humorous.

Keitaro put these thoughts out of his mind, for his exercise was much more important. He clutched the bar with vigor as he attempted to bring the bar down to his chest, and then straight up. He was doing well he thought, of course he would never be able to do as much as Seta but still, he was growing stronger. He decided to stop at fifteen for it was his third repetition. The bar made a loud clank as it made contact with the supporting platform.

Keitaro stood up quickly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He took a look at his watch and almost panicked.

Seta would be coming home soon. This would mean that Keitaro could finally do his second jog today. Of course no one would ever need a watch to tell whether Seta was home or not. All you had to do is just listen for a random explosion, or massive screeching of tires against pavement. Keitaro decided that it would be in his best interest if he took a quick break in the sauna. It was nothing like the hot springs back home though.

Keitaro quickly undressed, now only having a towel wrapped around him. He stepped into the small sauna room, and was about to adjust the setting for the steam, but it appeared as if the device had been left on from a previous time period.

"Damn that Seta, he's so forgetful," Keitaro said knowing it wouldn't do any good to complain about it. He turned the heat up slightly from its original setting. Keitaro could now feel an increase in the room's temperature.

Keitaro sat down with his feet on the floor; he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He allowed the steam and heat to surround him. As his eyes were closed he began to have fragmented visions of the events that occurred earlier this morning.

_That's not good enough Keitaro! You're not even trying! _Seta shouted. Keitaro flew to the ground with a thud, he knew it was futile to fight Seta, he couldn't possibly win.

_But…Seta-san…_ Keitaro stammered, what was the point of trying something if you couldn't possibly prevail?

_You need to focus, if your going to fight at all, then fight for someone you care for! _Seta exclaimed. Keitaro looked shocked.

……_Fight for someone!...I care for? _Keitaro looked confused. Seta lowered his guard and then helped Keitaro to his feet. Seta's face was calm, but very serious.

_Your enemy might destroy you, and if that happens you may never get to see your loved ones ever again, if you're not going to fight for yourself Keitaro, then fight for them….fight to live another day, fight to see your friends again……_

Keitaro's mind snapped back to reality.

"I wonder who Seta fights for?" Keitaro said out loud. Suddenly his question was answered.

"That's easy,"

Keitaro opened his eyes momentarily to find the source of the voice, but more importantly, _who_ it belonged to. Keitaro's eyes shifted upward, as he attempted to find the source, however he couldn't see because his glasses were fogged up. He took off his glasses, knowing that his vision was worse. He spotted a figure in front of him, sitting down. Since there was only one person in the whole house hold with long black hair, Keitaro had plenty reason to panic.

"Erynn! Holy shit! I was just leaving," Keitaro said, but Erynn quickly interrupted him.

"Easy Keitaro, I just wanted to talk that's all," Her voice was calm and collected, it appeared through Keitaro's blurred vision that she had a towel wrapped around her. Keitaro voice was raspy as he responded.

"…..um……ok…" Keitaro said trying to understand what exactly Erynn wanted. Erynn shifted her hands down to her thighs, she blushed slightly.

"Keitaro……are you busy today?" Erynn said softly. Keitaro's eyes looked into hers, they made brief eye contact.

"Not really……why?" Keitaro said curiously. She looked down, her voice now even more silent.

"Would you……want to go someplace with me today?" Erynn said shyly. However the oblivious Keitaro was forced to engage in twenty questions, he wasn't quite catching on to Erynn's intent.

"Go somewhere? Like where?" Keitaro asked. Erynn was patient, she was going to have to give Keitaro the "straight answer" if she was going to get through to him. Her glance shifted downward.

"Um…..you know….maybe go out and grab a bite to eat…..just go out and have some fun, just the two of us," Erynn finally was able to spit the rest out. She looked up as Keitaro placed a hand behind his head, he let out a slight laugh. But then it appeared as if Keitaro had two heads, one of them smiled calmly, the other looked panicked.

"Oh is that all…." Keitaro's one head said, but the other one had something else to say.

"Wait a minute! Are you asking me to….." Keitaro was in shock! Did Erynn just ask him to a date? Keitaro looked up to see Erynn blushing immensely. What was Keitaro going to do?

He didn't have Naru here to tell to influence his judgment, he now ultimately had to choose. There would be no Naru breathing down his back, or Kitsune teasing him, none of that was here. He had to choose, and now nothing stood in his way from making that choice. Keitaro slightly gulped, he then cleared his throat, and let out a smile.

"Sure, why not," Keitaro said smiling with his eyes closed. Erynn grew excited, she honestly couldn't tell what Keitaro was going to say, but now she had nothing to be afraid of. Suddenly someone else entered the steamed room.

"Now I know you two are definitely up to something this time!" Seta said laughing in jubilation, as he entered the room. Suddenly Erynn jumped to her feet and pounded Seta with a round house kick, he went flying out of the room just as quickly as he entered.

"Bllllllllarrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhh!" Seta screamed as he went flying down the hallway. Erynn's brow twitched slightly as she was obviously annoyed by Seta's sudden entrance, but nobody knew that she was smiling on the inside.

Unfortunately that last move was too fast for her towel to keep up with her body, so it was only up to this point that she realized that her body was now being exposed to the "still in shock" Keitaro. She looked over, of course expecting the worse.

Keitaro was still sitting there, eyes bulged, his nose was dripping with blood. Now this was one moment that Erynn was NOT smiling about, however Keitaro couldn't help but grin. Her eyes flared toward Keitaro. He grew fearful.

"Sorry Keitaro," was all she said.

"Yep…..I'm gonna die!" Keitaro shouted. Keitaro then met Erynn's foot, and went flying out the door. Not before getting a nice eyeful though (What a way to go, hehe)

"BANZAI!" Keitaro screamed. Keitaro went flying down the hall way and landed right into Seta just as he was getting up. Both him and Seta now lie there on the ground motionless, there eyes spinning.

7:00 P.M

"What have I gotten myself into!" Keitaro asked himself as he paced back and forth in his room. Erynn had just asked Keitaro out on a date? Or was it a date? Maybe it was just socializing. Whatever the hell it was, it had Keitaro worried.

Of course Keitaro went on several dates in the past. Of course there were some occasions with Naru back home; but she would never admit to them as dates. Mutsumi was another obvious example, then there was Shinobu, and then the weirdest of them all was definitely with Su. Keitaro wanted something special with Naru, whether she wanted it or not. Would Keitaro be double crossing her if he decided to go out on a date with Erynn?

Then again Naru _claims_ she wouldn't care either way, of course we all know the frankness of that statement.

"Wait what am I worried about? It's just an innocent date, no harm done," Keitaro said out loud. He reassured himself that it was just a date and nothing more. But Keitaro couldn't help but wonder why Erynn all of a sudden had a change of heart. It was beyond Keitaro's logic as to what exactly Erynn was thinking in the first place. He had no idea Erynn's feelings for him.

Keitaro was outfitted in his typical Water Dragon shirt, and a pair of pants. One thing's for sure he didn't want to keep Erynn waiting. Suddenly amidst Keitaro's thoughts came a sound similar to a knock at the door.

Seta walked in with a mischievous smile on his face, Keitaro could already tell that Seta had something planned.

"Part-timer! So you and Erynn are going out shortly eh, heh heh heh," Seta said in a teasing manner. Keitaro instantly fell to the ground.

_He came here just to make fun of me?_

Keitaro quickly regained his collected composure, he looked at Seta with a worried expression.

"Is Eric alright with us going out together like this?" Keitaro asked. Seta grinned.

"Of course part-timer, as a matter of fact, he wouldn't have it any other way," Seta said in a whispered tone. Keitaro was curious.

"Why's that?"

Seta cleared his throat, "Well I can't say Erynn's ever been on a date before, so don't disappoint Eric, or Erynn," Seta said laughing. Keitaro could already feel the weight on his shoulders, her first date.

"Ah don't worry about it Keitaro-kun, I can tell already Erynn really likes you," Seta said. Of course this just made Keitaro blush even more. Seta wasn't helping much in terms of advice, of course, when was he ever?

"Gee thanks for the uh…..great advice?" Keitaro said sweatdropping. Seta grinned.

"I know isn't it great! Well I'm off to give Erynn some advice too!" Seta took off in a hurry down the hallway. Keitaro was about to warn him that it probably wasn't the best of ideas, but Seta never listens anyways.

"What kind of advice could Seta possibly give to Erynn anyways?" Keitaro thought aloud. However his question ultimately came with an answer. Moments later Keitaro's eyes bulged as he witnessed Seta fly down the hallway, screaming as he made contact with the wall. Erynn poked her head in Keitaro's doorway, just to display an innocent smile.

"Are you ready to go Keitaro?" Erynn said gleefully. Keitaro didn't know whether to react to Seta's sudden airborne exodus, or Erynn's attire.

She was wearing a pink blouse and a skirt, which was definitely something that Erynn would never wear on any normal occasion. Her hair flew freely behind her back, her eyes shimmered. She was also wearing the earrings that Keitaro had given to her. It was safe to say that this…….was a special occasion.

Keitaro was speechless for a moment or two, but decided it was in his best interest to respond.

"Yeah, let's go," Keitaro said blushing with a smile. The two walked down the stairs and was about to walk out the door. Authors Note: I guess Seta's dead Prereader's Note: Yup. You killed off Seta.

"Have a good time you two,"

Both Erynn and Keitaro stopped dead in their tracks, the voice was coming from the living room. He was sitting there hiding his face with his daily paper; he lowered the paper, his eyes scanning the two over the two. In his mind he was judging whether the two looked good together, but even so, there was no doubt in his mind. He let out a smile, which was not visible to Erynn or Keitaro.

"Thanks," Erynn said with a warm smile. Keitaro just smiled as he placed a hand behind his head, letting out a few laughs. The two then left, Erynn's hand enveloped within Keitaro's.

Eric then went back to his reading.

_Good luck…..Erynn. _

February 15th

7:30 P.M

If the date wasn't enough to worry Keitaro in the first place, he was now faced with another dilemma. Erynn thought it would be best if she taught Keitaro how to drive!

"Oh dear God what did I do to deserve this?" Keitaro said aloud. Keitaro face was full of discontent, he felt like he wasn't ready for this at all. Erynn reassured him though.

"Hey you're old enough to drive ok? Besides what's wrong with me teaching you, you know I could have Seta teach you!" she said teasingly. Keitaro's eyes bulged as he already had the thought process of Seta's driving "lessons," more like Burnout on crack.

_No Keitaro No! You need to HIT THAT SEMI, and it needs to be at least over one hundred miles an hour muha ha ha ha ha! _

"Ok you do have a point," Keitaro said while sighing. "I just don't feel comfortable, that's all,"

Erynn pointed, "Turn here," Keitaro turned.

"So explain to me again, uh about this sudden planning of events?" Keitaro said trying to beat around the bush with his question. Erynn looked surprised. Why was he surprised? Maybe he had never been on a date either?

"Well Keitaro, I guess I just want us to be on friendlier terms that's all," Erynn said giving a smile. Keitaro winced.

"We would be on friendlier terms if you wouldn't hit me so much," Keitaro said laughing. Erynn gave an evil stare.

"Would you like to experience going through a windshield?" Erynn said very cheerful like. "Besides, do you have any idea how many times you've walked in on me?" Erynn scolded.

"Approximately sixty seven times, which is three hundred and seventeen less than Naru's recor…." Keitaro cut himself short as he hardly believed what he just said.

"What was that?" Erynn said.

"Nothing…..err..Nothing at all," Keitaro said. He sighed only to himself.

Authors Note: This time around I actually have a legitimate excuse for my chapter latency. I started college, NO! My precious free time is GONE! I have nothing! Ugh. Once again thanks to my fans I have kept this story going. Also thanks to Dimitri, I've had to put up a anti-tama system to prevent him from raiding my house. Dimitri somehow puts up with me though; I'm not sure how he does it. I ran out of room this chapter so I split it into two. So I have 2 chapters this time around!

Pre-reader's Note: Ha! She asked him out while he was in the middle of a bath, now That's the way to get a date. And finally a date, I've been waiting for that for a while lol. On another note… you don't have Kanako's cat or Tsunade's Phoenix protection now do you… THE RAID STILL LIVES!


	12. Within A Soul Lies Darkness

Chapter 12

Part 3 (Continued) of February

Keitaro's Return

February 15th

7:45

After an interesting drive from Eric's to the ice cream shop. Keitaro was convinced more and more that this scenario was more or less a date than anything else, and he had to keep reassuring himself that an innocent date was nothing to worry about.

_So why am I so worried? _Keitaro thought to himself. Erynn looked over at the dazed and obviously embarrassed Keitaro.

"You're spacing off again. Are you really that bored?" Erynn said while tapping him on the shoulder. Keitaro snapped out of his trance, he looked to his left and made contact with Erynn, who had a concerned look on her face. They sat side by side at a park bench, there was no one around, it was peacefully quiet.

Keitaro supposed he could be honest for once

"Gomei, I usually don't go out on dates often," Keitaro said scratching his head. Erynn teased him as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well that's what you've got me for," Erynn gleefully exclaimed. Keitaro let out a sigh. He then took a small scoop of ice cream into his mouth.

"So Keitaro why do you want to do archeology in the first place," Erynn asked. She was attempting to get Keitaro to talk, because he was obviously stricken with nervousness. Keitaro sometimes asked himself that question. Maybe it was always a dream of his?

"I didn't really have any reason to go to Tokyo University in the first place, except for….." Keitaro stalled a moment, he knew what he wanted to say but he couldn't bring himself to tell Erynn the details. Erynn waited patiently for him to continue.

"I just wanted to go to Tokyo University that's all, I didn't have a particular reason, or a major study at first, but after I hung out with Seta for a while, well…….things changed," Keitaro said thinking back.

"It must be hard," Erynn said looking down. Keitaro looked toward her; a confused look plastered his face.

"You are the owner of a girls dormitory, you attend Tokyo University, you're studying abroad here in America, you must miss home," Erynn said.

"It will never be as hard as what you have to go through," Keitaro said taking another bite. Erynn looked up.

"Your mother died at an early age, you lost contact with your father for so long, moved several times from Japan to America, and yet you can do all these things and still go on living, you're a very strong person Erynn, probably the strongest I know," Keitaro said as he looked at her with compassion.

"Keitaro that's not true, I never would have gotten anywhere if you hadn't showed up, I'm indebted to you," Erynn said softly. Keitaro shook his head.

"If I ever lost someone I loved, I would just end up running away from it all, I would run and never look back," Keitaro said looking down. Erynn was shocked.

"You don't seem like the type of person who would run away Keitaro,"

"You have no idea Erynn," Keitaro said from personal experience. Keitaro thought back to all those times he had left Hinata Sou. The one that ultimately affected him the most was when he left for Pararkelse Of course that in itself was an accident. Erynn spoke again.

"How long are you here for Keitaro?" Erynn said as she took a bite of her ice cream. Keitaro looked up toward the sky.

"It's February so, I leave in April I believe," Keitaro stated. Erynn looked worried.

Two months left, that's all she had. Would she be able to tell him that she loved him? But more importantly, would he even listen?

"I wish I didn't have to go, I'm going to miss this place, but then again I still miss home," Keitaro said still looking up.

"You……..could always stay here…." Erynn said nervously. Keitaro was surprised; he looked over to Erynn who was now blushing. Keitaro smiled.

"Hehe, admit it, your going to miss me," Keitaro said teasing. Erynn got defensive.

"Am not! I was just offering for you to stay that's all!" Erynn shouted.

"Don't worry Erynn I'll miss you too," Keitaro said laughing. Erynn blushed a little.

"You will?" Erynn looked heartened. Keitaro turned to look at her. She was beautiful; she might even be more beautiful than Naru. Yeah he would miss her, without a doubt. But more importantly, would Erynn be able to survive without him? He had helped in getting her life back on track, would she be ok without him?

"Of course I will," Keitaro said casually.

"It's safe to say that you're a very important person in my life," Keitaro said as he smiled with a hand placed behind his head. Obviously Keitaro wasn't that good with words, so he struggled in his vocabulary usage. Erynn grabbed him and placed him into a head lock, she was grinning evilly.

"Of course I'm an important person in your life! How dare you say "it's safe to say!" Erynn squeezed her grip tighter. Keitaro only laughed, her grip wasn't strong enough to make him choke, it felt more like a hug more than anything.

"Say Keitaro," Erynn said resuming her normal composure. "Do you have…."

Keitaro's look of curiosity made Erynn pause her sentence; Keitaro was cute, but sometimes a little too gullible.

"Go on," Keitaro said looking at her blankly. Erynn had a hard time talking about this topic, she didn't want Keitaro to get the wrong idea, but then again his obliviousness might kick in a little more.

"Do you have someone special…..back home…" Erynn finally said. Keitaro slightly winced.

"_What brought this up_" Keitaro thought to himself.

Keitaro's next expression was one that she had not anticipated. If Keitaro showed happiness, it would have meant for sure he had a girlfriend or something along those lines, and if she saw shyness, well then he didn't. But Keitaro's expression was…

Emptiness

"_How do I explain,_" Keitaro thought to himself.

Indeed, Keitaro found Naru to be an attractive individual. With flawless features, a smile to die for, and not to mention a 6-pack of aggressiveness to go along with it. But all in all, Keitaro had no idea what to think. He and Naru went through a lot, and although he told her that he loved her, there was no response from her.

True Naru was special to Keitaro, but he felt like his emotions toward Naru was sometimes a wasted effort. No sign of gratitude from her. Nothing to go by in terms of proof, that Naru liked Keitaro. There was nothing, in the 20 years of his life he never had a girlfriend and was never happy. It was almost cruel in a way. He was the manager at Hinata Sou, he was surrounded by beautiful women, and yet; was this just endless endured torture? Would he never find a girl to call his own?

"I don't know how to explain it," Keitaro said sadly.

"Hmm….unrequited love," Erynn said in an "all knowing" tone a voice. Keitaro let out a laugh.

"No words of encouragement huh?" Keitaro said sighing. Erynn pushed further.

"Does she know?" Erynn looked over to Keitaro. Keitaro looked toward her direction, but his eyes told the whole story.

"Yeah, she knows," Keitaro said with a sigh. Erynn's eyes showed sympathy.

"I see," Was all that Erynn could say. Keitaro slightly released a laugh.

"What's worse….." Keitaro started, Erynn looked over. Keitaro continued.

"She used to be in love with Seta," Keitaro said with a sneer. Erynn's eyes bulged.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME? Why would anyone fall in love with that freak of society?" Erynn exclaimed. Keitaro smiled.

"That was harsh, but yeah, that's how things go sometimes I guess," Keitaro stated. Keitaro then changed the subject quickly.

"What am I saying, I shouldn't let this bug me," Keitaro stood up, finishing the rest of his ice cream.

"I know where we can go next," Keitaro said trying to get their current "date" back on track.

"Oh really?" Erynn said showing curiosity.

"Have you ever gone bowling?"

Who would have thought that a simple date would turn into a bowling fest? Erynn was slightly surprised that this was one of the many talents that Keitaro possessed. With much embarrassment though, Erynn had NEVER gone bowling before, ever.

At least Keitaro was enough of a gentleman to decide where their next destination was. But bowling of all places? Well Erynn decided she would give it a try.

Keitaro and Erynn had arrived at the bowling place, Keitaro requested a pair of shoes from the counter, two pairs.

"Why can't we use just regular shoes?" Erynn asked.

"Well one, these are special shoes that help in preventing scuff marks on the floor, and two, these shoes are favorable for bowling," Keitaro said. Erynn just nodded her head in agreement, she wasn't sure if this was going to be fun or not. Keitaro led Erynn out to one of the bowling lanes. Erynn looked around in curiosity.

"Next," Keitaro said interrupting her thought process. "We'll need to get you a ball that will fit your fingers, and that is comfortable in weight," Keitaro pointed to the various bowling balls, some smaller than others, and some in different colors.

She observed the bowling balls, with a hint of uncertainty. She placed her fingers inside one of the bowling balls, the fit was perfect.

"Ok so how heavy is it? Is it too heavy?" Keitaro asked. Erynn had a normal look on her face; it appeared to Keitaro that the ball was just the right weight for Erynn.

Keitaro took the ball into his hands, and then a split second later the look of horror was plastered onto his face. His stance shifted downward toward the floor, as he nearly lost control of the ball.

"_Holy Shit! How did she do that?" _Keitaro thought to himself with a laugh. Obviously he forgot that Erynn wasn't your typical weak, kind of girl. He managed to finally pick up the bowling ball with two hands, a no easy task.

"Ummmm…..I think that's too heavy," Keitaro said laughing. Erynn was confused, it seemed just fine to her.

After picking out a _proper_ sized bowling ball for Erynn; Keitaro was ready to teach her the joys of bowling.

"The rules of the game are simple, you throw the ball down the lane, and try to strike down as many pins as possible within a set amount of rounds," Sensei Keitaro said as he taught his young student, Erynn listened on as if she was sitting at a desk watching Keitaro write out the schematics and mathematical principles of bowling on a chalk board.

Erynn casually drop kicked the chalk board out of site, "Wouldn't it just be easier if I played the game, and you just give me advice?" Erynn said. Keitaro placed a hand behind his head laughing.

"Good point, Ok, you go first," Keitaro said in high spirits. Erynn grasped the bowling ball with a strong grip, she gave a look of complete seriousness, as if she was concentrating. Suddenly she lashed her arm out, and the bowling ball went flying straight through the air at an accelerated velocity, and completed disintegrated a single solitary pin! Followed by a loud thud from the bowling ball finally touching the ground.

Keitaro's mouth dropped straight to the ground, and it seemed as if the other 11 pins slightly sweat dropped.

"Um……plan B," Keitaro said.

"So what do you think," Seta said with a grin. He looked like a 2 year old that was about to steal the cookies from the cookie jar.

"What on earth are you babbling about?" Eric said one of his favorite books. Seta slid over to Eric casually.

"Come on, Erynn and Keitaro...huh….ehehe," Seta grinned widely.

"What are you getting at…?" Eric placed his book down and examined the foolish look of anticipation plastered on Seta's face. He went back to his reading.

"I trust Keitaro, he would never take advantage of Erynn," Eric put simply.

"But Keitaro is a guy, and he usually lives with seven plus girls, don't you think his hormones are flaring up," Seta said. His face now was in a state of pondering proportions.

"I may not know Keitaro that well, but he is a good man, and good men are hard to come by, especially the kind that hangs out with you Seta," Eric looked up to find Seta now watching television.

"Oh ha ha sorry, did you say something?" Seta laughed. Eric fell from his chair in awe. How can someone be so dense? Eric quickly picked himself up, ignoring Seta altogether, he then went back to his reading.

"It makes me wonder whether Erynn really likes Keitaro," Seta said in a questioning voice. Eric rolled his eyes.

"You really are clueless, of course Erynn likes Keitaro!" Eric said trying to defend his daughter all he could. Seta looked confused.

"Well she doesn't show it very well, what with the exception of the date," Seta said. Eric let out a sigh.

"The female psyche is something hard to grasp Seta, no actually YOUR psyche is hard to grasp let alone a….." Eric last word was interrupted as he looked up to glare at Seta but found that Seta had his eyes once again glued to the television.

"IM STILL TALKING HERE!" Eric said as blood vessel appeared above his brow. He threw his book at Seta's head. Seta's next statement took Eric off guard.

"I just hope Erynn knows that she only has two more months before Keitaro leaves," Seta said casually. Eric switched to a look of seriousness, Seta than tossed the book back to his friend. Eric caught it and opened it back up to the exact page.

"Yes, hopefully she realizes that, two months, isn't a lot of time,"

9:30 P.M

As Erynn and Keitaro left the bowling ring, Erynn was prancing around Keitaro laughing at him. In all the years of bowling Keitaro had never been beaten by an amateur, somehow, Erynn beat his score during their 3rd game. Talk about rubbing it in.

"You call yourself the king of bowling! Ha! I totally smoked you!" Erynn said laughing hysterically. Keitaro sighed, she was never going to let him forget his defeat.

"Erynn you only beat me by 5 points," Keitaro pointed out calmly. Keitaro never was one to do well under pressure. Erynn laughed some more.

"I honestly thought bowling was going to be boring, but that was actually really fun! You'll have to take me again sometime," Erynn exclaimed. Keitaro lowered his head as if he was sulking in pity. His reputation might be ruined if anyone found out he was beaten by a girl. Of course Mutsumi just didn't count, there was something strange about that game. Keitaro decided that from now on it would be best not to take anyone lightly. Keitaro's mind snapped out of his pondered state as he felt a warm essence grasp his hand.

Startled, Keitaro looked down to find Erynn's hand enveloped with his own hand. He then looked up to see Erynn's green eyes shimmer in the darkness. Keitaro blushed but only for a second. She let out a smile that said more than a thousand words, she had a fragrance that was distinct and enticing, and her eyes; Keitaro just seemed to get lost in them, like an endless oblivion of everlasting beauty.

"Well what do we have here yo?" said an unsuspecting voice. Erynn and Keitaro both looked forward, they were incredibly startled. Ahead of them, four males, they looked like they were looking for trouble. Whoever these guys were they didn't look to friendly. The second male stepped forward. Now that Keitaro had a closer look, these guys looked like nothing short of thugs.

"Oooh, looks like a couple, the girl doesn't look to bad," said the second. The third and the fourth just laughed. Then they all unexpectedly moved forward, slowly approaching Keitaro and Erynn. Keitaro placed himself protectively in front of Erynn. Erynn eyes widened.

"What do you want?" Keitaro asked calmly. The four just laughed.

"Chill bro, we just takin' a likin' to your girlfriend there," the third thug said. Keitaro firmed up, he wasn't going to back down from these guys.

"If you'll excuse us, we'll be going," Keitaro said. However the four thugs laughed more.

"You weren't listenin bro," The fourth said. Then without warning the fourth thug let out a cheap shot, he punched Keitaro hard in the stomach, Keitaro never saw it coming. But the pain didn't cease there, he then preceded an uppercut while Keitaro was leaned over. Keitaro went flying through the air, blood oozed from his nose, Keitaro came in contact with the cold hard ground, his glasses flying off his face onto the ground.. Erynn let out a scream as she kneeled down to examine Keitaro's now limp body, he was out cold.

"Heh, what a weakling, how could you have a boyfriend like that, you should go hang out with us sweetie," The first thug said. They approached Erynn slowly. For the first time in her life, Erynn was afraid. She was fearful of what these four were going to do with her, she was fully capable of martial arts, but for some reason there presence overwhelmed her. Without thinking, Erynn jumped into the air, launching a kick toward a random thug. The first thug grinned as he blocked her kick casually. The first thug then proceeded to throw her to the ground.

"Oooh, she thinks she's hot shit, hehe how cute," the second thug laughed. Now all four thugs were towering over her, preparing to do their worst. Keitaro moaned slightly as he slowly came back to conciseness. The thug's now had their back toward Keitaro, they didn't hear him awaken. Keitaro could barely make out faces, his glasses were unable to be found, and his vision was fragmented.

Keitaro was in a predicament, he knew little in the art of defense, and he didn't know if he had the means to defend both himself and Erynn at the same time. Things were looking bad.

"That's a cute outfit girl, why doncha take it off," Keitaro heard one thug say. Keitaro vision was slightly disoriented, he thought back to what Seta had said to him this morning.

_That's not good enough Keitaro! You're not even trying! _Seta shouted. Keitaro flew to the ground with a thud, he knew it was futile to fight Seta, he couldn't possibly win.

_But…Seta-san…_ Keitaro stammered, what was the point of trying something if you couldn't possibly prevail?

_You need to focus, if your going to fight at all, then fight for someone you care for! _Seta exclaimed. Keitaro looked shocked.

……_Fight for someone!...I care for? _Keitaro looked confused. Seta lowered his guard and then helped Keitaro to his feet.

_Your enemy might destroy you, and if that happens you may never get to see your loved ones ever again, if you're not going to fight for yourself Keitaro, then fight for them….fight to live another day, fight to see your friends again……_

_Let that be your power_

Keitaro's mind snapped back to reality.

If he didn't stop them now, they might rape Erynn and then _kill_ her. Keitaro felt something begin to stir, what was this feeling?

_I'm not going to let that happen_

As Erynn's cries became more desperate, the more fuel was thrown over the perpetual flame. Keitaro slowly lost sensation to his body.

Suddenly, something inside snapped. He could feel Seta's words echo through eternity in his mind. If he didn't stop them, Erynn might not get out of this alive, he wiped the blood away from his face, the four individuals did not see him rise.

Whatever this change of heart was, it wasn't good. The only thing on his mind now was anger, and this feeling inside of him was consuming, enticing his very inner self. Whatever it takes, Keitaro would take them down. He finally understood what it was he had to do. Keitaro could hear Seta's voice inside of him, guiding him.

_You know what you must do_

Keitaro felt something inside him finally give. He stepped forward, deliberately crushing his glasses with his foot.

Erynn was in panic, she knew martial arts well enough to take these goons, however she was too afraid. She only had experience from practice and sparring, this was the real thing, and this intimidated her. She was too afraid to move, but if she didn't do something, they would probably take advantage of her.

Suddenly one of the thug's falls forward, he slumped to the ground slowly. His eyes show no life in them. His neck bent unnaturally sideways, from the strike of an unsuspecting fist. All three men freeze, Erynn was no exception, they were unsure of who just committed this atrocity. They turned their eyes toward Keitaro. His eyes were flared with vengeance, hatred, the fires of hell burned in his eyes. They were going to hurt Erynn, and that pissed Keitaro off.

"You trying to start somethin?" One of them said, he apparently was the ring leader. If necessary Keitaro would take him first. He pulled out a switch blade, and the other three followed his command. Three men, three switch blades, against Keitaro who's only weapon was his angered will to protect Erynn. Erynn slumped to the ground, fearing the worst.

"This one's mine," he said grinning. The other two laughed as they imagined Keitaro's blood stricken body, lying in a heap from the work of the cold blade. He lunged forward, hoping to get a cheap stab into Keitaro, he smirked. As the blade drew near, it came several inches from Keitaro's chest.

The thug smiled greedily as his blade came into contact with……air.

Without even blinking, Keitaro was gone from site; the thug staggered forward to regain his balance after trying his lunge. The two others who were watching looked in absolute horror, as they witnessed Keitaro somehow disappear and then reappear behind his assaulter. Erynn watched in amazement as well.

"Over here," Keitaro whispered from behind. His eyes were showing no emotion. The thug whipped around in a one eighty, attempting a quick slice. Once again his blade made contact with air, as Keitaro stepped back to avoid the cut.

The thug now had the blade in front of him, and was about to formulate his next move, when suddenly.

Keitaro went on the offensive.

A quick roundhouse kick sent the thug's knife flying to the left, it made a hollow clank as it stabbed itself into the wall. But Keitaro didn't stop there; he reversed his footing and proceeded with a reverse kick, hitting the stunned man right in the chest.

The thug took a while to recover from the last blow. But he tried to strike back. He pushed all of his weight into a punch that aimed for Keitaro. This unexpectedly took Keitaro off guard. The fist made a bone crunching noise as it came into contact with the side of Keitaro's face. His head lashed to the left as he took the blow. The thug smiled.

But his smile turned into a horrid stare as his eyes came into contact with Keitaro's. Apparently the punch did not affect Keitaro in the least bit, it seemed only to make him more irritated. The thug stared in awe, he had not moved since he swung.

Keitaro lashed his leg out, and then whipped it around behind the thug, he then violently kicked in the backside of the thug's leg, causing him to collapse to his knees. Following up, he jumped into the air with ease and finished him off with Erynn's signature spin kick right in the temple. The thug was out cold as he made contact with the wall that kept the knife in place. Two thugs left, and one looked pissed.

The thug lashed his arm out, the blade he was holding flew straight for Keitaro. Whoever this thug was, he was no amateur, the blade was seconds away from Keitaro's head.

Suddenly the knife came to halt, almost as if it stopped in mid air, the thug's eyes grew wide.

Keitaro stood there, his hand grasping the once airborne knife with his hand! Somehow Keitaro was able to stop a fatal airborne attack. The blade was mere inches from his head when he caught it. Erynn couldn't believe her eyes. Keitaro smiled, but it was not a smile that anyone would be familiar with.

The thug then proceeded forward blindly, he wanted Keitaro dead. Keitaro casually moved the blade downward, and waited for the attacker's first move, and perhaps his last. The thug tried his luck at a series of punches, jabs, and feint's, but Keitaro was no fool. He dodged them all as if they were child's play. Everything he would pull, Keitaro already anticipated it. It was almost like reading his thoughts before the action.

Keitaro countered. He made a fist and immediately engaged in a series of combo punches, several connected to the ribs, and then one hitting for the kidney, the last one was a punch to the stomach. The blade in Keitaro's hand had not made contact with the thug at all.

The thug winced in pain, and then as a last act of defiance he took a risk.

He risked a quick upward kick, which Keitaro then had finally had him. He grabbed onto his opponent's foot. The thug was now powerless and unbalanced. Keitaro smiled as he raised a foot of his own up, and made contact with…

The most crucial area on a male body.

He clutched himself as he let out a groan, he dropped to his knees as Keitaro released his leg. Now his opponent was nothing. He walked forward slowly, and then unexpectedly lashed his leg out, and with a furious round house kick to the head, the second thug was out for lunch.

He never stood a chance.

Keitaro slowly turned around to face the last one, as the one thug slumped to the ground with a sickening thud. It looked as if he was frightened. But what he did next Keitaro did not anticipate. Keitaro's eyes widened in fear.

The small glare of a pistol could be seen being pulled from the last thug's vest. A knife was one thing, but a gun?

The pistol could now be seen it appeared as if he was going to finish Keitaro off. The pistol was pointed straight at Keitaro. Keitaro froze, he might be able to rush him now and get away with a serious injury. But instead he waited, waited for the inevitable gun shot. The thug smiled, as scary as it seemed, Keitaro was not the target.

The thug slowly moved his gun in a different direction. Time seemed to slow down as Keitaro's was in a state of panic and disbelief.

The barrel of the gun was heading straight for Erynn.

Now seconds away from a point blank shot. Keitaro did the only thing he could do. He pulled the knife in his hand back, and released it, the knife went straight for its target.

The barrel was pointing straight at the defenseless girl; Erynn was too petrified to move. His finger now on the trigger.

Suddenly the knife made contact with the metallic gun. There was a slight spark, and then both knife and gun went flying in the opposite direction. The thug was surprised, and outraged. Unfortunately for him he didn't have a chance to react because Keitaro's fist came cracking down against his face. He went flying several feet before taking refuge on the cold hardened ground.

Keitaro wasn't finished yet, he furiously walked over and grabbed the knife with one hand, and grabbed the thug by the shirt and held him high in the air, ready to extinguish any life or meaning behind this pitiful existence. The thug was scared completely; his eyes were widened in fear that Keitaro would take his life. Erynn had tears in her eyes.

"Keitaro NO!" Erynn screamed. Keitaro gritted his teeth as he stared him down. The thug was hanging there, not moving, fearing his life might be taken. Then unexpectedly he released the thug. Now Keitaro was towering over him, his eyes still flared. The thug then hastily got up and ran with his tail between his legs. Satisfied, Keitaro's anger had been quelled.

Erynn attempted to gather her thought process and composure; she had a hard time believing what just happened in the past five minutes.

"Keitaro?" Erynn said softly. Keitaro turned around and looked around to observe his handiwork. There was a look of horror on his face. Suddenly Keitaro fell to the ground, exhausted.

Eric's House 3:30 A.M

Keitaro awoke as sweat was dripping from his forehead. He looked around to determine where he was. He looked around with his eyes only; everything in this room looked vaguely familiar. There was a set of cabinets off in the corner, a television in front of him, and off to his left was a nightstand with a picture of…..

He was in Erynn's room.

He looked down to observe himself, he was lying in Erynn's bed, there were bandages around his stomach area, and one around his fist, he also felt one around his forehead. His body ached all over, he couldn't really move. His breathing became slower, knowing that he was now safe.

However, how did he get here?

"Keitaro," said a soft familiar voice from the right side of the room. Keitaro's eyes slowly looked over to meet a set of green eyes.

"Erynn," Keitaro said softly. Erynn smiled, she was relieved that Keitaro had awakened and that he was going to be ok. Keitaro let out a smile as well.

"How are you feeling?" Erynn asked shyly. Keitaro let out a slight laugh.

"Tired…..and my body aches, what……what happened," Keitaro asked. Erynn's eyes showed sadness. Did he not remember?

"Keitaro, the guys at the bowling alley, they…." Erynn managed to get that one sentence out, and suddenly Keitaro's eyes widened as it all came flowing back to him. There were visible tears beginning to flow from Keitaro's eyes. Erynn began to cry as well.

"I don't remember……I don't remember any of it, I remember they were going to hurt you, and then…..here I am," Keitaro stammered. He had a look of fear, he had no idea what had happened. It was if his body took over and was its own essence. Erynn suddenly lunged forward embracing Keitaro in a soft hug. Keitaro looked surprised.

"You saved my life Keitaro, I don't even know where to begin in terms of thanking you," Erynn said. Keitaro could feel her heart beating rapidly, he felt her warmness against his skin.

"As long as you're alright, that's all that matters," Keitaro said simply. Erynn looked him in the eyes as she hugged him.

"I didn't want to lose you, I couldn't live with myself if they had killed you, then suddenly……I let myself go. I could have killed them," Keitaro said.

"It's my fault that this happened, I was so scared, I couldn't fight back," Erynn said sobbing, she clutched Keitaro's chest.

"You see, I'm not strong at all, you could never be like my mother was, I was so scared," She was now sobbing.

"Everyone gets scared sometimes," Keitaro said gently while stroking her hair. "I was scared too,"

Erynn looked up at him.

"I…..was so scared…..I thought I was going to lose you, I was afraid," Keitaro let out a weak smile. As Erynn stared into his brown eyes, she no longer had any doubt, or any reason to hold back. Not only was she in love with Keitaro, but now she was indebted to him. She leaned forward slowly, her face drawing toward Keitaro's. Then her lips slowly made contact with Keitaro's, her kiss was warm, and inviting. Keitaro did not object, not only did he not have the strength, but he didn't have the heart to tell her no. Erynn slowly felt Keitaro's lips respond back to hers. After a few blissful seconds, Erynn slowly released her kiss from Keitaro. She then rested her head down on his chest, slowly fading off to sleep. Keitaro did the same, basking in the warmth of Erynn lying next to him, his heart pounding.

From the outside window deck area, Seta walked casually away, letting a smile release itself from his face.

Authors Note: I must admit that even I did not see these turn of events coming, but one night I decided to bump things up a notch. Many thanks to my reviewers and of course Dimitri the illustrious pre-reader. The story's not over not by a long shot. Sit tight, as I get the next chapter into progress. Many thanks to everyone.

Pre-reader's Note: All I have to say is 'Bout Time!

Authors Note: Hey hey, enough with the insults, this is my first story ya? Im trying hard.


	13. I am no better than Naru

Keitaro's Return

Chapter 13

February 16th

The dawn is breaking

A light shining through

You're barely waking

And I'm tangled up in you

Yeah

I'm open, you're closed

Where I follow, you'll go

I worry I won't see your face

Light up again

Even the best fall down sometimes

Even the wrong words seem to rhyme

Out of the doubt that fills my mind

I somehow find

You and I collide

_Howie Day, "Collide,"_

Keitaro could remember lying there on the ground defenseless; he slowly awoke to find Erynn in danger. Suddenly the feelings of bewilderment fueled his very conscience. He began to slowly let himself go as he heard Erynn's pleading cry for help. Was he going to fail Erynn and let her die? Was this the end?

_I'm not going to let that happen. _

The shroud of darkness and hatred loomed into Keitaro mind. He would protect Erynn at all cost. He completely defeated three individuals as they threatened to not only steal Erynn's virginity, but her life as well. The fourth thug hastily pulled out his gun, trying to get a bead on Erynn.

In his mind Keitaro screamed out in horror, he wasn't going to lose Erynn, so he did the only thing he could think of.

He grabbed the now dormant switchblade that was in his hand and flung it toward the gun. The gun was seconds away from Erynn when it suddenly went airborne. Keitaro was on that thug quicker than Erynn could blink, he picked up the knife on the ground. He then held him up by the shirt collar, ready to extinguish the life of this pathetic individual who had the nerve to, without remorse, attempt to kill Erynn.

_Kill him……you saw what he did to Erynn…..Kill him! _

The knife drew closer to the thug's face, even as the look of horror was glued to his face.

"Keitaro don't do it!" Erynn screamed. Erynn's scream penetrated his mind; he finally released his evil thoughts, and dropped the thug to the ground. The thug fled for his life. Keitaro's vision blackened……

Keitaro awoke with a gasp; his heart beat was racing fast as sweat ran down his face. He was breathing heavily. He began to shift his head frantically.

Just a nightmare.

Keitaro continued to breathe heavily as he tried to calm himself down. He looked around and realized that he was safe, and he tried to assure himself that it was just a dream.

But it was no dream…..

These things really happened. Keitaro had just gotten a vision of what had happened the night before. For the first time he finally knew what happened that night. Keitaro and Erynn had been attacked by some thugs last night at the bowling alley. If Keitaro hadn't been there, Erynn would have definitely died. So then...

Why did Keitaro feel uneasy?

That last thug tried to kill Erynn, he almost succeeded. What's worse is, Keitaro could have killed him. He remembered Erynn calling out to him, pleading him to stop. Keitaro remembered the feeling of hatred and blind anger fuel his rage toward the breaking point. Keitaro remembered what Seta had told him...he remembered what he had told him about protecting others, and letting that be your power. Keitaro rubbed his head.

Keitaro looked down to find the bandages still wrapped around his abdomen, along with a well placed hand near his chest. He looked over to find Erynn lying next to him fast asleep.

He almost freaked out.

Then he remembered that he and Erynn had fallen asleep together last night. Apparently after the incident, Erynn somehow dragged Keitaro back to Eric's house, where she then gave him medical attention.

He blushed slightly as he felt Erynn's hand move closer toward his stomach, she murmured in her sleep. Then she silently went back into a state of silence. Keitaro saw that his hand was placed around her, with his hand resting around her bare warm skin of her upper stomach. He lie there silently, watching her with curiosity. He was no longer oblivious to how she felt about him, it was obvious now on how she felt, and last night's kiss was proof of that.

And that was just the problem.

Now Keitaro was faced with a crisis, and one that he was not too happy about. One that was indeed a dilemma. He stared at her with a blank stare. She was indeed beautiful; her hair was slightly unkempt, her eyes were closed and she had an innocent smile on her face, her black hair was resting freely behind her, and although it was unkempt, it was very soft to the touch. Keitaro eyes shifted down to her chest, which there was a slight degree of cleavage being shown, from Erynn's lack of sizing clothing properly, he watched her chest rise and fall slowly as she slept. She was wearing her "fight" shirt with a pair of sweat pants.

Keitaro squeezed his grip tighter on Erynn, almost as if he was giving her a hug. He then reached over and kissed her gently on the head. He then very carefully slipped out of bed without to much commotion. Erynn was so out of it that she had not noticed him arise. But eventually she would notice that her source of heat was now gone.

Keitaro went to his room and put on a shirt, there was no sign of Jody in his room. The house was unusually quiet for a change. Maybe there was no one home?

Keitaro then walked over to the sliding glass door, opened it and slowly walked over toward the side of the deck, not before closing the door behind him. His vision was slightly disoriented since he had lost his glasses in the fight. He would eventually have to get a new pair.

The afternoon breeze felt nice. The sky was dark; a clear indication that rain was coming. But still it felt nice outside. Keitaro went over to the edge of the patio, and let out a sigh of frustration. So many things were running through his mind, and it was more then Keitaro could take.

He saved Erynn from a near death situation. Which in turn Keitaro finally knew that Erynn liked him in a way that was similar to love. Keitaro was now stricken with the visions of the night before, he felt as if a demon had taken a hold of him. Keitaro never knew he had the ability to fight like that. He felt as if there was nothing that could have stopped him, hell, he almost killed a man! But the biggest problem of all was...

Not only Naru, but now Erynn. Keitaro was facing a crisis of decision.

Erynn was very special to him, her life was revived after Keitaro came to America, she was nothing more than cold hearted at first. But Keitaro changed all of that; he showed her that he cared despite their indifferences. Maybe that's why Erynn fell in love with him? Because despite all of the turn downs and abuse, Keitaro never gave up on her. It was safe to say that now, now of all times; Keitaro had feelings for Erynn.

But what about Naru?

Keitaro dreamed of going to Tokyo U in order to fulfill a promise to his long lost love. Naru claims that she never made such a promise. After becoming manager of Hinata-Sou, Keitaro soon became so infatuated by Naru's beauty that he confessed his love for her. She never said those three simple words back to Keitaro. She never told him that she loved him too. In fact her vocabulary usage pissed Keitaro off.

Who would have thought that such a word as "Maybe," would infuriate someone so.

She said that she loved him, but had to tack on the maybe. What kind of answer is that! It was almost torture to his soul; he was almost tempted to take on hell itself just to relieve himself from such a word. Now he was back at square one, first it was the decision between Naru and Mutsumi. But now...Erynn and Naru.

"Why...why don't you love me in return?" Keitaro said aloud sadly as he stared at the sky. He wished she could answer. He suddenly felt choked up. He felt as if he was totally useless. A normal person would just go with the girl who loves a guy in return. Keitaro was a man who went without love for 20 years; it was only natural that he couldn't make such a decision easily.

"Nice day isn't it?" said a familiar voice. Keitaro knew all to well who it was, he turned around to face the happy go lucky face of Noriyasu Seta. He said nothing to his old friend, he turned around to face the horizon once again.

"You seem down part-timer, let's go for a run? How about it?" Seta said cheerfully. Keitaro saw that the weather conditions were not favorable for a jog. But Keitaro could not ignore his old friend. He decided it was best to go.

"I'll be downstairs waiting," Seta said leaving.

Keitaro and Seta maintained a mutual silent moment for a good jog up the road from the house. It was the same road that led them toward the city. It was also that same road that led Eric to see his wife every now and then.

"Keitaro...there's no use in hiding it, Erynn didn't tell me what happened last night, so are you going to fill me in?" Seta said laughing. Keitaro tried to play the fool.

"Fill you in on what?" Keitaro said in a aggravated tone.

"Don't play dumb, that's my job. Erynn dragged you home last night unconscious; you were beaten up pretty badly, now you still want to act innocent?" Seta said seriously. Keitaro didn't know how to explain the situation. He didn't even know where to begin. Thank God Eric was off on a trip for the time being, so he wouldn't find out until later, or if all went well he would never find out.

"We were attacked last night outside a bowling alley," Keitaro said calmly. Seta tried to hide the surprise, but it was very apparent in his eyes.

"What happened?"

Keitaro and Seta both stopped in to catch their breaths from the run. Then Keitaro continued.

"I don't really know, there were four of them, they started hitting on Erynn, next thing I know I'm on the ground, then I'm back up, and I had just manhandled four men," Keitaro said hardly believing his own words.

"I see, looks like you totally lost yourself back there, I was afraid of that," Seta said. Keitaro looked up at Seta with a confused look.

"Anger is a powerful thing to quell, even if you smite your enemy you may want more," He turned to Keitaro. "Anger is one's last resort in a fight, anger will only lead you to uncontrolled power, a power in which you may lose your purpose," Seta said.

"What do you mean purpose?" Keitaro asked.

"You wanted to protect Erynn right? That's why you rose to the challenge without second thought?" Seta said raising an eyebrow. Keitaro shook his head.

"Your purpose of that fight was to protect Erynn, but...with anger, you could have killed any one of them at any time, if you had killed them, you would have been no better than them," Seta said. Keitaro was astounded, it sounded as if Seta had experienced this before.

"One of them pulled a gun on Erynn, Seta! What was I supposed to do?" Keitaro almost screamed his last sentence. Seta looked at his friend with concern.

"But he didn't get succeed! You managed to take him out without killing him! You should be proud of yourself Keitaro!" Seta exclaimed.

"But they could have killed..." Keitaro was cut off as Seta hit him square in the face. Keitaro was in shock.

"Stop thinking what-if part-timer, you succeeded, they did not, the whole point of training is to not only train the body, but to train the mind. If you want to prevent the tragedy of losing someone like that, then you must strive to become stronger...for the ones you love," Seta said. Keitaro brought a hand up to his face, as the pain subsided.

"How do you know so much about this?" Keitaro asked quietly. Seta chuckled, turned and began to walk back home.

"Because it happened to me once..." Seta said. Keitaro looked at Seta as he walked away.

"Haruka?" Keitaro asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Seta said.

Once back home, Seta motioned Keitaro toward the black Corvette, which belonged to the Jones family.

"Yeah, um, looks like you lost more than just your nerve last night," Seta smiled, as he examined Keitaro's face. Keitaro slightly let out a laugh.

"I know of a shop in town that does glasses and such, lets go," Seta said. But Keitaro was not too fond of the idea of going into town with Seta, with Seta doing the driving. He quickly latched himself onto the mailbox.

"Um, I think I'll pass..." Keitaro said faking a laugh. Seta grabbed his part-timer nonchalantly… both Keitaro and the mailbox, and pulled him towards the corvette as Keitaro screamed like a little girl.

"NO HELP ME!" Keitaro screamed. Seta laughed.

Erynn awoke from her bed. She felt a cold draft, slowly realizing mentally that Keitaro had left her side. One thing's for sure, he was still technically injured, it wasn't the best of ideas for him to be waltzing around in his condition.

Erynn sat up from her bed, the strap on her shirt fell downward, revealing some cleavage. She rubbed her eyes gently, allowing her senses to return naturally. She let out a high pitched yawn. She opened her eyes and looked around, not finding Keitaro anywhere.

Surprisingly enough, despite what happened to her last night; she had slept like a baby. She was clear of any nightmares or appalling visions. But she had a feeling that Keitaro's dreams were stricken with fear and disbelief of the events that transpired as little as twenty four hours ago.

She could barely believe it herself, Keitaro, a complete klutz at heart. How did he do it? He had barely any martial arts experience? And yet somehow we manhandled 4 men! What compelled him to rise above his limits? Was he so inclined on protecting her that he did it for her?

Erynn's eyes were filled with precariousness. She didn't know whether to be afraid of Keitaro and what he was capable of, or...

Her mind flashed to the moment last night where she and he had shared a kiss...

Erynn blushed immensely, although it was a spur of the moment thing, and she probably couldn't do it again if her life depended on it. She still had no regrets; she just hoped Keitaro felt the same way. Erynn stood from her bed, and walked over to the sliding glass door window. She peered outside, the bright sunlight brightened her eyes, her hair was still disheveled, and her lips carrying a silly smile. Out of the corner of her eye she was something rather... disturbing.

"NO HELP ME!" Keitaro screamed. Seta laughed, he then shoved Keitaro into the car and pulled a reverse 90 degree backup going 40, with Keitaro hanging out the window trying to scream for his life. Seta kicked it into high gear, going 75 down the country road, with Keitaro's screams still heard. Erynn slightly sweat dropped, wondering if Keitaro was going to make it back alive.

"Well at least Keitaro's feeling better," Erynn smiled to herself, waltzing out of her room and down the stairs to catch a late breakfast. Little did Erynn know, Keitaro's problems were far from over.

Seta hit 100 miles per hour down the country road, within 2 minutes he had already hit the city of San Diego, he tried to stop at the stop sign, but his tired squealed and he skid from the stop sign, then crossed two intersections while barely missing traffic. Seta laughed like a little kid.

"Ha ha what fun eh part timer!" Seta looked over to Keitaro, his face was stricken with confusion and uncertainty. Seta's expression changed, almost as quickly as he brought the car down to normal speed limit.

Keitaro had to make a decision, and it had to be soon.

On one hand he had a girl that he met and has only known for a few months, she apparently loved him and although her words were absent in terms of love, the kiss the night before was proof of that. She was glamorous, and caring. But more importantly, would Erynn have the strength to live her life without him? Keitaro alone was the one person that got her back into the mood of living.

On the other hand, Keitaro had Naru. He knew that Naru was the girl of his 15 year promise, whether she admitted to it or not. There was nothing good about her, she was obnoxious, a hot headed person, and to top it off she wasn't clear with her feelings. So why did Keitaro love her so much?

It went without words, there were times where Naru showed Keitaro compassion, and there was no doubt that she and Keitaro shared a kiss or two, even thought they were unintentional, of course there was that one before the Toudai exams. Did she do that because she was going to lose to Mutsumi? Was that the only reason? Or was it really just for good luck? Keitaro had told her that he loved her, and yet she had turned her back on him numerous times, a vicious cycle. It got to the point to where Keitaro hated her because of it. Hating her so much, because he loved her so much and she rejected him. Was Keitaro angry because he might have a chance with Erynn but Naru is the only one standing in his way?

"Keitaro," Seta said casually. This snapped Keitaro back to reality, he didn't look to face his mentor and friend, he just stared straight ahead.

"You're going to have to make a choice," Seta knew exactly what was going on, he was at the same boat once in his life too. Seta might be oblivious, but there were times when even Seta had a intellectual side to him.

"I know that," Keitaro said simply. He was not happy at all.

"Preferably before its too late, you've got two months to choose kid, or you'll get Naru by default," Seta said pulling out a cigarette. Keitaro looked even more daunted.

"Did you bring me here because you knew this was going to happen?" Keitaro asked, it seemed as if Keitaro was trying to find a scapegoat. Seta let out a laugh, but he did not loose his patience.

"I had no idea this was going to happen Keitaro, I brought you here to see the world, and to get a glimpse of archeology, not to get you involved in a love conflict. I honestly didn't know you of all people would change Erynn's life after Christmas time, but you did, and now she's obviously taken a liking to you, you're just going to have to accept that," Seta said plainly.

"You don't know how hard this is," Keitaro said, but then it felt like Keitaro was stuck by lighting, Seta immediately stopped the car, inhaling deeply on his cigarette, his face was emotionless, but Keitaro peered at Seta's eyes, they looked bleak. Keitaro made a grave mistake, he was fearful that he might have upset Seta.

"I promised that I would make a decision before I turned 30, I had to choose between two women. Then Sara was born, her mother shortly died afterwards, of course I am the father of Sara," Seta said quietly.

Keitaro had almost forgot, not only did Seta experience the feeling of indecisiveness at an early age between two women, but he lost the woman that he loved, so in a sense, Seta had experienced both Keitaro and Eric's problems.

"I lost everything Keitaro, everything, the girl I loved, I even lost Haruka, I don't even know if she'll come back to me now, were not young anymore Keitaro, it's harder when you're old. Keitaro I'm warning you," Seta looked Keitaro dead in the eyes; Seta's eyes were firm and serious.

"No, I'm telling you, As a friend, Keitaro, don't make the same mistake I did, Don't procrastinate your life, if your going to take time to think, then that's fine, but don't forget you have a time limit, I know it's hard, trust me I know, I don't want you to lose everything like I did," Seta said calmly.

"Sara was too young to remember what had happened to..." Seta trailed off, "...but I'm still fortunate to have her, she is all I have left," Seta said with a goofy smile. Keitaro had nothing he could say in his defense, he knew Seta was right, and if he didn't act on his situation, he would not only end up like Seta, he might end up like Eric too.

"I told you this once before, and I'm going to say it again..." Seta rolled down the window and threw his drag out the window. Then continued, "You need to be more confident in your decisions part-timer,"

Keitaro had a lot to think about, and for the first time he knew what Naru felt like. Now all Erynn had to do was confess her love for Keitaro, then he wouldn't be able to answer. Could he truly find happiness with Erynn? Was this what he was destined to find?

Erynn was in the process of eating breakfast. She had no idea where Keitaro had gone to with Seta, or even if he would return alive from Seta's driving for that matter. It was peacefully quiet for a change. Her father had been gone since late last night for a meeting in Sacramento, so luckily for her, Eric had no idea of what happened last night. Nor would he ever find out, hopefully. She took a small bite of toast, enjoying the flavor. She looked around solemnly, despite the fact that Keitaro was feeling better, she was still worried about the poor guy. He had been through hell last night.

She felt bad because she should have protected him, not the other way around. In terms of skill Keitaro was an amateur in martial arts. Where did his power come from? What made him turn from a helpless fool, into a person raged with the fires of hatred in his eyes. But not only that, he defeated 4 guys without flaw! Perhaps Keitaro had experience prior to Erynn's teachings? No, Keitaro told her he had no prior experience in martial arts, so then...

Where did that power come from?

What willed him to suddenly do the impossible? It was a factor that left Erynn in a pondered state of mind. She was almost tempted to see this side of Keitaro, the dark side that revealed itself last night. She wanted to see what the source of it was. Was Keitaro not telling the truth? Did he really know deep down how to fight?

Her thoughts were shattered, as she slightly jumped after being startled by the telephone. She rushed to answer it.

"Hello," Erynn spoke into the phone, waiting for a response.

"Hello sweetie, how are you doing?" Said a familiar voice.

"Dad! Hi it's good to hear from you!" Erynn said recognizing Eric's voice.

"How was your date with Keitaro? Tell me tell me!" Eric said laughing. Erynn blushed, she tried to control her emotions. She whispered, even though there was no one around.

"Dad, it wasn't a date, and we had fun, I beat Keitaro in bowling!" Erynn said trying to hide her nervousness of what really happened last night.

"Oh that's surprising, Seta tells me Keitaro is a real champ at bowling, how did you beat him?" Eric asked.

"Well I only beat him by one point, so..." Erynn couldn't say much. Eric was laughing hysterically on the other end.

"Well I just called to check on you, to make sure you were alright, and to tell you I love you," Eric said, with a laugh. Eric's heartfelt words struck deep in her heart.

"I love you too dad,"

Sacramento California, Restaurant.

Eric Jones clicked his cell-phone off, he felt calm now that he knew his daughter was safe. Now at least he could sigh a breath of relief.

"So Erynn was attacked last night? Is she gonna be ok?" said a deep voice.

Eric looked up to David Williams; he sat just across from Eric. Eric smiled almost humbly.

"As long as Keitaro is with her, I'm not worried at all," Eric said.

"But she was almost killed last night," David pointed out.

"According to Seta, Keitaro took down four men, I really wonder how he managed," Eric said he then took a sip of soda, and raised the menu to eye level.

"The boy has skill; could his training have paid off?" David said also bringing his menu up to read. Eric laughed.

"I don't know, but if I had to guess, I would say the boy finally let himself go,"

"Not bad, not too bad at all!" Seta said laughing. Somehow, Keitaro and Seta had survived the trip to get Keitaro a new pair of glasses. They were quite a sight too! They looked extremely identical to Seta's, with smaller frames, and they were quite comfortable too! In a sense Keitaro felt more sophisticated. Altogether Keitaro felt as if he was slowly becoming a new person.

Seta's eyes looked to the right as the duo was approaching Eric's house, "Look, its Erynn," Seta said pointing. They pulled into the drive, Erynn was meditating near a tree next to the pool area. Keitaro stepped out of the car and eyed Erynn from a good fifty feet away. She was sitting there, eyes closed. Seta smiled casually, and went inside, leaving Keitaro and Erynn alone. Keitaro approached her quietly, not wanting to disturb her, as Keitaro drew closer he sensed forthcoming danger. Now Keitaro was five feet away from her when suddenly...

Erynn's sudden moment of tranquility ceased as she launched herself at Keitaro from a seated position, hoping to get a strike in with the fist. She was seconds away from Keitaro face, when he quickly tilted his head to the left, avoiding a direct hit. Erynn quickly compensated and resumed a battle stance, Keitaro jumped back and gave her a questioned glance.

Her eyes seem to search into Keitaro's; it was almost as if she was searching for something, like an answer or something. Erynn quickly attacked again, this time engaging in a series of random punches, jabs, and kicks, but Keitaro blocked them all. He would dare not strike at her, he didn't know if this was a typical match or whether it was something else. Erynn launched herself back then lunged forward; she then attempted a forward sweep kick toward Keitaro's legs, Keitaro jumped straight up.

Now Erynn was directly underneath the airborne Keitaro, she used her arms to arch her body upward, she lashed out her left leg, striking Keitaro haphazardly in the back. He flew forward, taking the hit from behind. He turned himself while in the air to face Erynn who was now advancing yet again. He was still airborne when she reached him, she jumped up getting ready to follow up on her next attack. Suddenly Keitaro feet came into contact with something, the tree. Keitaro pushed his legs off the tree, launching himself over Erynn performing a complete front flip. Erynn did not anticipate this, but she did have enough time to halter her attack, she landed on the ground, only inches away from the tree, with Keitaro behind her.

Keitaro stood there observing Erynn from behind; he assumed a defensive position, ready for her to attack once more. There was silence.

She then stood, facing Keitaro, her eyes still searching, but finding nothing. Keitaro now took this seriously; he would not strike her back for there was definitely something going on. Erynn rushed Keitaro once again...

The fight advanced for another hour, both man and women's clothing were drenched with sweat, and both bodies were stricken with fatigue. Erynn continued to attack Keitaro relentlessly. But for that entire hour, Keitaro did not once return a single attack. Erynn had managed to get in 3 maybe 4 successful hits, but they weren't enough to put Keitaro down.

Erynn's fist came into contact with the forearm of Keitaro, another successfully blocked attack. Erynn's attack's were getting sloppier, due to the fact that she had been attacking relentlessly. Keitaro had a hard timer keeping up with her, sure he was in shape, but Erynn was a persistent one, he wondered if she would even stop?

Erynn knew that she didn't have the energy to keep this up, so in a last gamble, she attempted to throw off Keitaro's footing, then launch a final attack. She managed to get a quick hit in to Keitaro stomach. Keitaro felt the sting for the wound from last night still was sore, Keitaro felt his vision begin to blacken. Erynn saw her chance to strike, she jumped up in the air, and attempted her signature spin heel kick. Erynn's heel was inches away from Keitaro's face.

"_As long as you're alright, that's all that matters," Keitaro said simply. Erynn looked him in the eyes as she hugged him. _

"_I didn't want to lose you, I couldn't live with myself if they had killed you, then suddenly……I let myself go. I could have killed them," Keitaro said. _

"_It's my fault that this happened, I was so scared, I couldn't fight back," Erynn said sobbing, she clutched Keitaro's chest. _

"_Everyone gets scared sometimes," Keitaro said. Erynn looked up. _

"_I…..was scared…..I thought I was going to lose you, I'm glad your alright,"_

Keitaro's mind finally gave in, his felt his body come alive.

_I can't lose, I have to live on so that I can protect you, always..._

Keitaro's mind snapped again and he caught Erynn's leg, she immediately dropped to the ground. A gust of dirt enveloped the two.

When the dust cleared, Keitaro's hands and legs pinned Erynn's, she was now lying there, staring into his eyes, his eyes were on fire, it was the same look that he had the other night, but then something happened.

Keitaro's eyes soon returned to normal.

"I don't understand," She said with a shy voice, "What willed you to fight as you did before?" Erynn was blushing, Keitaro smiled.

"I just wanted to protect you, and before I knew it...well," Keitaro said blushing. Erynn didn't know what to say, somewhere inside of Keitaro laid a dormant power, a power that only seemed to be willed by Keitaro alone. She had no idea that she was the source though. Keitaro released himself from Erynn, and she soon rose to her feet, only to collapse from exhaustion.

Keitaro quickly caught her in mid fall. They were both extremely tired. Keitaro knelled down and Erynn smiled as she climbed on his back. Keitaro then carried her back to the house.

"I like your glasses by the way," Erynn said resting her head on Keitaro's shoulder. Keitaro smiled.

"Thanks,"

Seta was sitting down in a chair, as he had witnessed the whole fight between Erynn and Keitaro. He stood up, and went to the edge of the deck, he took the cigarette out of his mouth, grinning. He watched as Keitaro carried Erynn into the house.

"Ahh young love," Seta said laughing.

To Be Continued.

Authors Note: It's been well over 4 months since my last update. So much has happened. It's 5:43 in the morning on a Sunday. School is killing my life, But don't let this get you down people! I am still here and fighting to get the story done! I am sure my pre-reader will have a lot to yell at me about in terms of my latency, but I don't mind. Again thanks Dimitri for being there. And to my fans I thank you a thousand times for your support. It is because of you that I keep going. Next chapter ASAP. Again if anyone needs to contact me, my email is Steven underscore Ravenwing (at) yahoo (.) com don't hesitate to contact me for questions, or just to see how I'm doing.


	14. Ambush

Keitaro Return

Chapter 14

February 27th

There was a certain vivacity that filled the air in the realm of Hinata Sou. Spring was soon to arrive and it was just around the corner. Hinata's domestic pet thought so too. She flew around in the main hall way, deciding to commence her daily routine of visiting each member of the dorm.

First she found Shinobu, who was whizzing about the place in a buoyant mood. She was carrying a basket of laundry. Tama landed gracefully on Shinobu's head, then with a friendly, "Myuh!" said her hello and was on her way. Shinobu's smile couldn't be wider.

Naru was in her room studying, and as Tama noticed it would seem that Naru was doing better. Tama would notice that every now and then Naru would be found crying in her room, or studying non stop for some sort of exam. Of course Tama was only a turtle, but she could kind of deduce why Naru grieved so. Naru barely noticed Tama's entrance, as she whirled around the room then exited, heading downstairs.

Once there, almost instantly Tama was attacked by a figure that was twice her size, but was of the same origin...sort of. She flew haphazardly through the air avoiding the vicious snapping jaw of Mecha Tama Version 3, the prime creation of none other than Kaolla Su. Su grinned deviously as she held the remote control which was responsible for controlling that evil device, or rather, ingenious device.

"Me next me next!" Sara said gleefully while standing next to Su.

"Nyahahahaha!" Su laughed aloud. She then turned up the booster on her mechanical menace, making it faster than ever. Sara watched in amazement.

Tama was frantic! She performed 360 spins in the air, attempting to evade this evil cloned version of herself, it seemed hopeless, like an inexperienced pilot in a dog-fight. She flew desperately toward the kitchen.

Suddenly from around the corner came a silhouetted figure, whether friend of foe, Tama didn't know, but she instinctively took refuge behind this inconspicuous individual. As Tama was flying away from the figure, it became evidently clear who this person was, she chanted inaudible words only to herself. She then raised her katana to strike.

As Mecha Tama 3 attempted to follow, the metal menace only came into contact with a silently wielded sword, wielded only by a certain master of God's Cry school of Swordsmanship. It appeared to the human eye that Motoko did not slash at all; however, the splitting of Mecha-Tama 3 had a different story to tell.

Su and Sara both went bug eyed at the sight of Mecha Tama 3's demise. The metal Tama now lied in shambles upon the hardwood floor, smoking slightly.

"Defeated again!" Su said in a frustrated tone. Sara sweat dropped.

"I told you, you should have installed that nano repair feature!" Sara said. Su laughed nervously.

"Ah well! Back to the drawing board!" Su exclaimed.

Tama flew overhead giving a "Myuh," or a "Thank You," to Motoko, but did not approach her since, not only did this swordsman have a pet peeve against freaky creations, but also Turtles. Then all at once, Tama noticed that everyone started to gather in the living room. Mutsumi was the first to appear, or rather, stumble, that is...down a set of stairs then landing into the living room.

"Ara ara, what a trip, Oh, Tama!" Mutsumi said. Tama landed directly on her shoulder, 'speaking' to her with several "Myuh's"

"What's that? Evil Tama ? And Motoko saved you?" Mutsumi said cheerfully. Motoko slightly sweatdropped.

"I don't even want to know, how she knew that, it's impossible," Motoko thought to herself. One by one more and more members of the household appeared. Shinobu appeared from the kitchen, followed by Kitsune, and believe it or not, Naru!

"What with all the racket!" Naru demanded an explanation. Motoko let out a smile, while Su tried to explain.

"Well we were testing the new equipment for Mecha Tama 3!" Su exclaimed.

"3! 3! 3!" Sara exclaimed while jumping up and down.

"I just got done talking to Haruka, she's invited us over for tea...Anyone want to come?" Shinobu said gleefully. Kitsune smiled.

"Might not be a bad idea," Kitsune said. Naru nodded in agreement as well. Motoko also appeared to take pleasure in this idea. It seemed everyone needed a break, for a change.

"Myuh!" Tama exclaimed as she landed on Shinobu shoulder.

Haruka had prepared tea for everyone. It was a beautiful day, one in which would be a sin to stay inside. Tama was lying on the picnic table, sipping on a juice box, and basking in the warm rays of the sun.

"So how is everyone doing? Naru? How are your studies?" Haruka asked.

"Midterms are coming up, so, it's a tough time," Naru said with a sigh.

"Ditto for me!" Mutsumi said. Of course it didn't seem that the issue of mid-terms affected her at all. This wasn't surprising, considering, Mutsumi of all people, had an abundance of hidden knowledge. Whether her care free, clumsy ignorant behavior was something intentional, or unintentional, it was unknown.

"School is going great for me," Shinobu said taking a sip of tea. Su and Sarah agreed as well.

"Everything appears to be in order," Motoko said. Haruka smiled, then turned to Kitsune.

"Eh? You know me! Never a dull moment, just looking forward to April," Kitsune said laughing.

Dead silence.

Everyone knew what April meant; April was the deadline for their beloved male friend to return to Japan after so much time. Everyone knew this, except for...

Tama was smart enough to understand, and knew the word, "Keitaro" more than anyone. He had been the talk of the household.

Tama couldn't quite understand where Keitaro had gone. To her, Keitaro was more than just a "master," or the owner of the Hinata Apartments. Tama always would be around Keitaro, and Keitaro would always acknowledge her.

Now it seemed, that around the household, only two people paid attention to her, Shinobu, and Mutsumi. But before, Tama would spend almost every minute of everyday with Keitaro, almost as if he was her constant companion.

Tama was indeed your above average turtle, but even a domestic pet had their limitations in terms of understanding humans. Keitaro had been gone for a long time now, and she couldn't understand why. Tama was without a doubt, crestfallen by these turn of events, and at times wondered if Keitaro would ever come back.

"What do you think Keitaro is doing right now?" Shinobu said softly, breaking the silence. Everyone looked up, as if they were almost shocked that Shinobu had been the first to speak up. Haruka actually laughed.

"That idiot Seta has probably gotten him in to some sort of trouble," Haruka said, she looked as if she was fighting off previous memories. Memories perhaps, of the past adventures she once had with the happy-go-lucky archeologist.

"I bet he hooked himself up! I mean a male can only get so patient before they..." Kitsune said at random, of course this statement drew much attention. Naru struck first.

"What the hell are you blabbering about; Keitaro doesn't have the skill let alone the ability to pick up anyone for that matter," Naru put it. This was, Kitsune's opening.

"One could say the same about you as well Naru," Kitsune said smirking, this obviously pissed Naru off, she went on ranting and raving, to her devious fox friend.

"Urashima might also be enjoying the scenery considering it is his first time to America," Motoko said with her eyes closed.

"You think they have delicious bananas in America?" Su said leading off topic. Sarah kept on topic though.

"I agreed with Haruka, Papa and the dork might be up to no good, excavating or not," Sara said.

"Oh my! You mean excavating as in, Kei-kun and Seta are lying in caves all day completely drunk?" Mutsumi said with glee. A little pop up cloud appeared above Mutsumi's head, it appeared to be her thoughts on Keitaro and Seta.

Keitaro and Seta were lying on the ground in some random cave.

"_That was your 15th beer, your not bad part-timer!" Seta said, looking obviously wasted. _

"_Your not bad yourself, Seeeetttaaaaaa," Keitaro stammered. _

Motoko quickly impaled the imaged projection of the drunken duo. Everyone seemed to sweat drop at Mutsumi's comment.

"Where the hell did you get that idea?" Kitsune exclaimed, Naru's legs were wrapped around the backside of Kitsune, while bashing her on the head. Everyone shared a laugh or two, merely from the talk of Keitaro.

Tama shared a high pitched "Myuh!" as she circled overhead. With the excited look on everyone's faces, there was no doubt in Tama's mind, Keitaro would return...

Eventually.

February 27th

Flight 522

Flying Over Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

10:25 A.M

The plane bound for Arizona seemed to be filled with nothing more than your common travelers. Whether it was a business trip, vacation, or simply visiting relatives, everyone here seemed to have a significant purpose for a trip to Arizona. For a particular group of people, the reason and purpose, was an adventure, and a hunt.

The group of Archeologists set in the very back of the plane, speaking every now and then but other than that it was quiet. Keitaro was eager to get to Window Rock, which happened to be where the plane's destination was. Eric instructed that there were various cave's northwest of Window Rock, relatively close to Black Mesa, it was an excavation that would take roughly 2-3 days.

Keitaro looked to his left, scanning over the group once more. To his left there was Eric, who was sitting next to Seta as well. Eric seemed to be reading some kind of book, upon further inspection the book was called, "The Hunt for Red October." It seemed to Keitaro that Eric always had a new book in his hand every time he saw him. Seta seemed to be preoccupied with himself, he had earphones on, and it appeared he was enjoying his music, whatever it was. He passed a smile to his part-timer.

Further back to the left was the Williams family. David sat in the middle between his wife Aleshia, and his son Alex. David appeared to have his eyes closed, whether he was sleeping or not, it was unknown. His wife Aleshia appeared to be writing something down, from the looks of it, it looked like some sort of documentation. Alex was playing on some strange device, this strange device was producing noises and random beeps. David quickly poked his son in the side.

"Turn that thing down, there are people trying to catch some sleep," Eric said in a deep intimidating voice. Keitaro let out a silent smile, as Alex was forced to comply.

"Aye mate! Ya Girlfriend's been gone quite a while she has!" said a familiar accent. Keitaro peered behind him, on the left was Jake, he let out a grin at Keitaro. The Australian sat next to Jake, Robert showed a huge grin.

"Don't say that!" Keitaro stammered, clearly embarrassed with Robert's comment. Robert let out a laugh.

"Ha mate, just foolin with yas" Robert said. Keitaro looked to his right, the seat was still empty, Erynn had disappeared, Keitaro wasn't quite sure where she had gone off to. Keitaro rose from his seat quietly, for he needed to use the bathroom.

Keitaro proceeded to the back of the plane, where there were various bathrooms for use. Unfortunately for Keitaro, he had not been paying attention as to which bathroom he was walking toward. There was the male bathroom and there was the...yeah, you guessed it.

As Keitaro opened the door leading to the bathroom, he definitely got a big surprise when he found Erynn inside, uh, tending to her business. Keitaro's jaw dropped, as well as his ability to put thoughts into proper wording.

"Eh...ah...um...ugh..." Keitaro stammered. He watched in fear as Erynn rose from the toilet (now decent), walking up to Keitaro, very nonchalantly, barely expressing anger.

"You realize that as soon as we land, I'm going to kill you..." Erynn said with an evil smile. Keitaro's mind shuddered at these words, he knew that his punishment was inevitable. But at the very least, maybe she would show some shred of dignity and get it over with quickly?

Keitaro was suddenly grabbed by the neck, and dragged back to his seat by Erynn, who had a wide smile plastered on her face.

"Well well, Keitaro, back so soon?" Jake said as the sight of Erynn and Keitaro. Keitaro cringed, but Erynn had the liberty to inform the group of Keitaro invasion of privacy.

"This little twerp walked in on me again, you have to worst luck Keitaro," Erynn said still smiling; while dragging Keitaro. Keitaro looked absolutely terrified. Everyone in the group laughed, knowing full well that Keitaro would definitely get hammered sooner or later.

"We have a little over an hour before we reach Window Rock, any last bit of sleep is probably wise," David said sounding solemn. It soon got quiet, and pretty soon, everyone in the group had fallen asleep, well almost everybody.

Erynn snuggled her head against Keitaro shoulder. Keitaro nor Erynn seemed to say anything about the night of the their kiss. Keitaro seemed to be doing better, his mind was still slightly troubled by the whole ordeal, make no mistake of that. Erynn on the other hand, was just enjoying what was left of Keitaro, the question was however, could she let him go?

Keitaro gently wrapped his arm around Erynn, embracing her slightly.

12:00 P.M

Window Rock Arizona

The crew met up at the front gates of the airport, the rest of the trip would be by jeep. It was about another hour drive to get to the caves. The area was near Black Mesa, which Arizona has some pretty harsh weather during the summer. Seta was glad it wasn't summer, otherwise 110 degree weather or worse would be the primary problem. The air seemed to stay at a constant 70 degrees, it was a nice day, thank goodness for that.

Robert, Jake, and David all helped load up the equipment, they couldn't help but laugh as they heard certain screams coming from behind them.

"NO HELP ME!" Keitaro screamed, with Erynn close on his tail.

"Come back here you perverted fiend!" Erynn shouted at him.

"Never a dull moment aye mate?" Robert said. David and Jake couldn't say anything else, those two were definitely lively for being just friends.

Erynn finally caught up to Keitaro, delivering a kick to his face. Keitaro went flying through the air, and miraculously landed in his seat in the jeep, just as the crew was about to get ready to leave. Keitaro's eyes swirled in disorientation.

"Hmm, I think the poor lad is dead..." David said observing Keitaro's limp body. David poked him and laughed.

"Nah, part-timer goes through this all the time," Seta said with a laugh. Jake, Robert, and Eric all huddled together.

"I think the girl is too high strung to be Keitaro's girlfriend...Robert?" Jake whispered.

"Agreed I say, but maybe Keitaro ain't mindin the torture?" Robert whispered.

"Don't worry men, Erynn has always been this way, even before she met Keitaro, a little on the aggressive side, but a good heart she has" Eric said whispering as well. The three men then shook their heads in agreement.

"HELLO! I'm right here you know!" Erynn said shaking her fist at the three devious men. She was obviously standing two feet away from the huddled individuals.

"Let's get going!" David said aloud.

The caves in the area were a lot bigger than Keitaro had expected, they were so big that they would have to travel through the caves just to get into the burial grounds. Which meant for the most part, the first hour or so of this trip would involve spelunking. Which Keitaro had no problem with. He adjusted his light headset, attached to his helmet so that he could see ahead of him.

The caves were cold alright, these caverns led slightly underground, which was different from the typical cave.

The formation of the archeological group went as followed. In the front was Eric, leading the way for everyone. If anyone knew these caverns well, it was Eric. Next was David, which it was rare for David to participate in such events, but David never turns down an adventure or two. Next was Robert, who couldn't help but let out a laugh or two, for it was obvious he was experiencing déjà vu all over again. Seta was 4th in line.

Keitaro was 5th in line. His surprise was apparent, and everyone knew it. He glanced around the cave in wonder. It was quiet in this cave; it was as if the whole world was silenced. He found it hard to observe his surroundings, while looking in front of him. The terrain of this cave was perilous at times. With the ground being cold and wet, one slip from a high elevation, could prove fatal.

In 6th formation believe it or not was none other than the sweet, tough as nails, daughter of the Jones family. Despite the fact that Aleshia, Jake, and Alex had all stayed behind, this did not discourage Erynn in the least bit. She ventured forth with some trouble. Every now and then there was pit holes filled with cold murky water, or small crevices that needed to be watched out for and promptly stepped over.

"Say Erynn, you didn't have to come with us you know?" Keitaro said while adjusting his helmet. Erynn couldn't say much in her defense.

"Is it a crime to get out and do something different for a change?" Erynn smirked. Keitaro let out a laugh.

"I dunno, this just doesn't seem like your style," Keitaro said with a laugh.

"Maybe I just want to spend some time with..." Erynn was about to say, but stopped, she said no more. Keitaro of course was oblivious.

"Huh? Spend time with whom?" Keitaro asked. Erynn was visibly blushing. However, the cave was too dark for anyone to see. Seta let out a laugh.

After about a half an hour, the group reached a narrow pathway, it was about 5 feet in width. The scary thing about it was that they would have to cross this pathway, with their backs against the cavern wall, and inch their way to the other side. Five feet wide, after that there was a huge chasm, that led straight down, and no one knew where it led.

"Be very careful, we have to cross this point, whatever you do, don't look down!" Eric said warning his group. Each member began his cautious treading across the narrow passage. David began first, now changing the formation. He made it halfway across, before Eric proceeded. By the time David reach solid ground on the other side, Eric was halfway through, then Robert proceeded, then Seta. Next it was Keitaro's turn. At this time both Eric and David made it safely across, with Robert about to reach solid ground as well.

Keitaro made it halfway across, he looked down. The chasm leading down was dark; there was no sign of where it went. Keitaro noticed Erynn cautiously took her time, following Keitaro. Keitaro took one step forward, and then he heard a female scream. He looked back in fear...Erynn had slipped...

Keitaro jolted forward as quickly as instinct would allow him, he grabbed Erynn's hand, grasped it, then used the other hand to quickly grasp onto a jagged stone slab. Both he and Erynn were now hanging there, and below them, was the chasm of darkness.

"ERYNN!" Eric screamed.

"Damn!" Seta exclaimed. Everyone was in a state of panic.

"Hold on mate, I'm comin!" Robert said. Keitaro hung there, supporting his own weight, and Erynn's. He let out several deep breaths, he could admit that he was scared. Robert hastily made his way toward the duo in peril.

"Kei...kei.eitaro..." Erynn whimpered, almost as if she was crying.

"...ugh...I'm not letting you go, don't worry," Keitaro said in a low tone. Robert saw Keitaro's facial expression, he was struggling. Both Eric and Seta were frantic, pleading for Keitaro to hang on, and for Erynn to do the same.

The jagged slag of rock was wet, and Keitaro's grip was slipping. This was not good.

By this time Robert had reached the duo in peril. He lied prone.

Keitaro mustered all the strength he could, he lifted Erynn with one hand and quickly gave her over to Robert. Robert quickly grabbed Erynn by the wrist.

As Robert grasped Erynn. Keitaro's grip on the rock was gone. He let out a scream of denial, and fell into the chasm of darkness, his scream echoed throughout the entire cavern. David's eyes widened. Robert attempted to grab Keitaro, but it was to no avail. Seta eyes looked fearful.

"NO!" Erynn screamed. This time Seta was looking over the edge in utter shock.

"Part-timer!" Seta exclaimed.

All Keitaro saw was darkness. Falling...

1 hour later.

All that could be heard was the sound of running water. Plus there was that musty smell that was all too familiar to him. He lie there enveloped in darkness. Slowly his sensations came back to him. The first thing he noticed was that the area he was in was completely dark. He turned his head to the left, there seemed to be a source of light, it was quite a distance.

Keitaro looked down to examine himself. He cringed as he pushed himself up, his face was now out of the mud. He looked around, the area was dark, but his pupils had dilated, and now he could barely see. Half of his body was emerged in water, the other half on dry land, the water was slightly cold. He feared for the worst, as he began to slowly move his entire body.

After a few seconds, Keitaro was relieved to find that no bones were broken; it was a miracle that he didn't die, or rather suffer a serious injury. Of course, with all the beating back home, I guess he couldn't be TOO surprised.

He quickly found that his light head set was dead. He quickly took off his backpack, and reached for the batteries. After a second or two, Keitaro replaced the dead batteries, and was able to see where he was.

He had no idea how far down he fell from that chasm, but one thing was for certain, he was separated from the main group. Luckily for Keitaro, Seta had taught him some tips on survival. However with the amount of food Keitaro was carrying, he could only survive for one day.

Suddenly he heard a voice; it was coming from straight in front of him. Whoever's voice it was, the person was of foreign language, one that was not familiar to Keitaro. Keitaro could see a small glimpse of light, it was heading his way.

For some reason, Keitaro took cover behind a rock; the rock was large enough to conceal him. A man approached the small reservoir where Keitaro's body once was. Keitaro slowly peered behind the rock, it was a man, and he was carrying something in his hands...

_A machine gun? _

The man smirked slightly to himself, and walked off in the opposite direction. Keitaro's eyes widened in fear.

_What the hell is going on! _

Keitaro silently followed the man, he left his backpack behind, and turned off his head-set light. He stalked the man about thirty feet behind him. The man walked down a huge straight-away in the cavern, then turned to the left. Keitaro followed.

The man stopped every now and then, almost as if he sensed something, Keitaro would stop too, taking cover every now and then. It was suicidal to fight a man with an SMG. The man continued, this time turning to the right, it appeared as if he entered a small area within the cave.

Keitaro cautiously approached the corner and peered out, within the small little area, was the man with the machine gun, as well as three other males, and one female. They all had guns, but that wasn't the most disturbing of all the factors.

Keitaro saw five individuals sitting on the ground, their arms tied behind their backs. The four men with guns, and that one female laughed at their newly acquired captives.

Those captives were Seta, Eric, Robert, David, and...Erynn...

Keitaro ran back down the path, heading back to the reservoir in fear.

To be continued...

Authors Note: 5:00 A.M on a Saturday morning. Hey folks, how's it going? College is still sucking me dry, and if they think they can prevent me from getting my chapters out, well so be it, this is war! I know I know, I'm late getting this chapter out. But so many things have happened. Half of which I don't even want to go into detail about. Thanks again for the reviews, and thank you Dimitri for still being with me after all this time. That's all for now, later everyone. Contact me if you need to.


	15. Noriyasu to the Rescue!

Keitaro's Return

Chapter 15

February 27th

The insides of the cave seemed to become even colder as a chill of fear ran down the spine of the ever-vigilant Urashima Keitaro. Keitaro made his way down the cavern to the reservoir, which he had fallen into a chasm and was unconscious for at least an hour or so. To Keitaro's findings though, Seta, Eric, Robert, David, and Erynn had all been captured by 5 individuals and they were all carrying machine guns. Keitaro wasn't certain which question to address first.

"_What the hell is going on?" _Keitaro thought to himself. He was extremely fearful. There was no way he could take on five people with guns, and protect his friends all at the same time...there was just no way. More importantly though, who were those people? And what did they want with a group of Archeologists? The more Keitaro thought about it, the more he feared it. The worst case scenario is he wouldn't be able to help his friends, and he would ultimately watch them die. Something had to be done, but what?!

Keitaro went outside the cavern. The air outside was dull, and dry. It would take him considerable time to reach Aleshia, and Jake, who were camped out nearby. Keitaro had no choice, he would have to make his way to them, somehow. Keitaro panicked, this situation was grim.

"Okay Keitaro calm down, you're the only one who can save them, but you have to act quickly," Keitaro was talking to himself. He was pacing, anticipating, weighing out his options.

"Dammit! What if by the time I reach the other's it will be too late!? What am I gonna..." suddenly Keitaro's sentence was interrupted as he heard a noise in the sky. It appeared to be a plane, but this plane appeared to be a bit out of the ordinary, it was flying a bit too low to the ground to be a normal airplane.

"What the?" Keitaro looked up; apparently the plane was now getting dangerously close to the ground. Then almost as if it was to be expected, the plane suddenly took a crash dive into the rocky ground about one-hundred feet away from Keitaro's current position, Keitaro ran toward the plane, deciding to investigate. A pilot seemed to stumble out of the cockpit with a blood steam flowing down his face; he gave a warm smile, as he stumbled to the ground. Keitaro was freaked out by this man's lack of flying skills.

"Are...are...you alright?" Keitaro managed to spit out. The pilot stood, and Keitaro could have sworn that this man looked remarkably familiar. He stood slightly over six feet tall, he had black hair, brown eyes, and a way about him that seemed strikingly familiar to the way Seta presented himself, the man even looked like Seta, only several decades older. This man was in his late fifties, but despite his age, he was handsome.

"Hmm? This looks like a good spot, now let's see," the man said with a friendly voice. The man then proceeded to ignore Keitaro all together and began...digging...as if he himself was an archeologist. Keitaro couldn't help but sweat drop at the very sight of this man, and his arbitrary behavior.

"What in the world...who are you old man?" Keitaro managed to spit out. The middle aged man eyed Keitaro with question. The man struck suddenly with his shovel, aiming toward Keitaro mid section, Keitaro leaped back, dodging the attack all together. He then assumed a defensive stance, ready for the strange man to attack once more.

The strange man gazed Keitaro over, he appeared to be looking at the way Keitaro was standing.

"I've seen that stance before, looks like you've been hanging around Erynn and my son a bit too long," the middle aged man now began to laugh, it was a laugh that was familiar. The strange man spoke the Japanese tongue, and his accent was excellent. Keitaro was in shock, he didn't know what to expect from this man, but did he say Erynn?

"Wait, who are you? How do you know Erynn?!" Keitaro questioned. The man calmly walked over to Keitaro, he placed his hand on his shoulder. Keitaro's stance was now lax.

"I'm here to help, I hear your friends are in danger," the strange man said with a grin. Keitaro was still confused as ever.

The scenario was much worse than stepping into the lion's den. It had been about a half an hour since they had been captured, not only that, they had no idea whether or not Keitaro was still alive or not. This was bad, but there wasn't anything anyone could do about the situation. David, Seta, Erynn, Robert, and even Eric had been apprehended by a group of strange people. Unfortunately they had been ambushed during their search for Keitaro.

Robert, David, and Eric, had to keep their hopes up, they knew Keitaro had his moments, but this was definitely a tricky situation that would require a miracle. They were unsure whether Keitaro was up for the rescue. Erynn on the other hand was still sobbing slightly, Keitaro was the one that had saved her life yet again and she really didn't know if Keitaro was alive or not. It had been slightly over an hour now, and all was quiet. David seemed to keep his cool, about the whole situation. Chances are, he knew Keitaro was still alive, based on a gut feeling that is.

Seta's eyes watched the four men and the woman. He slyly pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and made an effort to access his phone number list, and dial a specific number. He knew that there was only one person that could get them out of this fix, it was risky, and he wasn't quite sure whether his phone would get reception in a cave like this. It was a gamble, and a risk he just had to take. The phone read a name while it was dialing...the name was...

Setagi Noriyasu...

"So this is Noriyasu Seta, we meet at last," the gunned woman said with a smirk, the woman's minions smiled as well. Seta flashed an innocent smile.

"Well, I don't believe we've met," Seta said with a laugh.

The middle aged man suddenly reached into his pocket grabbing his cell phone. He observed the phone and let out a smile.

"Good, at least their still okay, for now," the man said while putting his cell phone away. Keitaro was still confused.

"Who are you?" Keitaro said wide eyed. The man placed a hand behind his head, laughing.

"Sorry, where are my manners? You can call me Setagi," Setagi said laughing. Keitaro looked the man over once more.

"Setagi? That name sounds really familiar," Keitaro said. Setagi laughed again.

"It does? Can't say I've heard of it before..." Setagi pondered.

"WHAT?! Didn't you just say that was your name?!" Keitaro exclaimed. Setagi grinned.

"Oh yeah, that is my name, that's why it sounds so familiar," Setagi laughed hysterically. Keitaro could only face fault to the ground. When Keitaro finally picked himself back up, Setagi was already heading toward the cavern.

"HEY! Wait up! Where are you going now!?" Keitaro asked as he caught up with his newly acquainted friend. Setagi lit up a cigarette as he spoke.

"Were going to save your friends, and my son," Setagi said, "I'm going to need you help though...part-timer," Setagi finished. Keitaro's eyes showed skepticism.

"Your son? Who is your son?" Keitaro was completely oblivious. The man smiled.

"He's the spitting image of me, as of a matter of fact, you'd almost guess he was me, it's almost scary, in a sense," Setagi said as he took a puff of his drag. Keitaro cocked his head to his side.

"Wow he looks like you? Who could that be?" Keitaro laughed. Setagi let out a laugh as well.

"His name is Noriyasu Seta," Setagi said. Keitaro placed his fingers at his chin.

"Hmm Seta, Seta, where have I heard that name before...GAH!?" Keitaro's mind was in shock. He looked over the man called Setagi once more, there was no doubt about it. Why didn't he see it before?

"Yeah...now that you mention it, the name Seta does sound familiar..." Setagi's expression now matched Keitaro's as he was pondering as well. Keitaro's body now grew limp with shock, as Setagi dragged Keitaro by the shirt collar, laughing as he went.

"Well, well, well, I never thought I'd see your sorry face on this side of the Planet, Seta..." the woman said as she bent down, gun pointing toward him. Seta slyly hid his cell phone underneath him, the four males continued to watch the area. The woman stood about five and a half feet, she had quite a pair. But not only that she was young too, mid thirties or so. She had blondish brown hair, and brown eyes.

"Have we met? I don't believe so," Seta said laughing. The woman fell over, sweat dropping out she fell down. She then got back up; shaking her arm in anger, and a massive vein appeared above her forehead.

"Three years ago we set up an ambush in the ruins of northern Italy! We knew you were coming, and yet you never showed! I put my heart and soul into that ambush and you deliberately never showed up! I hunted the Earth for you! But instead I only found your father numerous times over and over that bull headed, son of a..."

"Do ya know this woman, Seta?" Robert interrupted. Seta let out a laugh or two.

"Yeah, come to think of it, she's Anna Ballgard, she was a good friend of my father a long time ago, but when she got bold and wanted to propose to my father, well..." Seta said.

"Well what, mate?" Robert continued. Anna began to shake her fist in frustration; tears were streaming from her eyes. Despite the severity of the situation, it was a laughable experience.

"He kinda rejected her...or something like that," Seta laughed. The bound archeologists all fell face forward, including Anna, who of course was right back up ranting and raving. David rolled his eyes.

"So...explain how we are to suffer for your father's decision..." David said with a sigh of exasperation. Seta stepped in again.

"Apparently she's trying to get to my father by holding me hostage, ah love is complicated," Seta said smiling.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S COMPICATED!" Everyone said at once. Seta only laughed, while Anna paced back in forth.

"So what was so important Seta that you couldn't fall for my trap three years ago, I heard you left the country all together? So what happened three years ago huh?" Anna demanded an answer; of course Seta knew well why he departed from Europe three years ago. He looked over to Eric, knowing the exact reason.

Seta gave a smile, but it wasn't visible for anyone, except her.

"A good friend of mine passed away, I had to pay my respects," Seta said with a sincere tone of voice. Anna almost looked saddened by this, but she kept her resolve.

"A friend huh? Too bad, that's not a good enough excuse, Seta," Anna said obnoxiously. Seta let out a smile. Erynn kept her head down, not wanting to attract attention, while Eric appeared to be angered by Anna's last statement. Erynn, suddenly from out of no where, raised her voice.

"Excuse me, I have to use the bathroom," Erynn said shyly. Anna's eyes stared down Erynn's. Erynn could only stare with solemn, weary eyes. She didn't have the energy to engage in any form of confrontation at this particular point in time. Anna picked Erynn up by the collar of her shirt.

"I'll take care of this one, you boys stand and guard," Anna said to her subordinates.

"Yes, Ma'am" they all said in unison.

"When I get back, you and I will have some catching up to do, Seta," Anna chuckled. With that she guided Erynn around the corner, only to be led to the reservoir.

The situation seemed to become bleak, with each passing minute. Erynn was now being drug toward the reservoir so that she could 'tend to her business.' The woman named, 'Anna,' pointed the gun at Erynn, leading her in the right direction. With her hands bound, she couldn't possibly retaliate.

"Keitaro..." Erynn said to herself in her mind. She felt completely helpless, and there was a possibility that Keitaro would not save her this time around. Sure he had pulled through for her in the past with the incident involving the thugs, but this time it was unclear whether Keitaro was alive. Finally, Erynn had reached the reservoir, the ropes binding her hands were cut free, by a cold gleaming knife.

"Go for it, but I don't want any funny business, got it?" Anna said, while still pointing the gun in her direction. Erynn nodded in agreement.

She walked into the damp cold waters of the reservoir, she walked past a giant rock, when suddenly, a shadowy figure grabbed her from behind the rock, and held her protectively from Anna's sight.

"What the hel..." Suddenly Anna's statement was cut short, as something struck her from behind, whatever it was; it left her out for lunch on the cold cavern ground. Erynn had no idea what had just happened in the past few seconds, the first thing she realized was her being grabbed. Whoever this person was, their embrace seemed to act more as a hug rather than an act of violence. Erynn felt nostalgic from the mysterious warmth of this familiar body.

"Thank God your okay," Keitaro whispered to her. Erynn knew it was him even before he said anything to her. Erynn reciprocated the embrace, sobbing slightly in his shoulder.

"Your okay...I thought...I thought you were..." Erynn sobbed. Setagi grinned as he examined his handy work.

"Now this woman looks familiar...wait I know her!" Setagi exclaimed. Keitaro whispered a shout to his friend.

"We have no time for that now Setagi, we need to rescue..." Keitaro started. Erynn looked confused, but kept attached to Keitaro. Setagi raised a hand to the back of his head.

"Oh yeah, better go save them," Setagi then changed his expression, "Let's go."

"Hey, I wonder what's taking the boss so long." One of the male guards said. The other's murmured amongst themselves.

"Yeah, heh, maybe the girl had to take a number two! Bwahahahaha!" the other guard said. All the other's laughed. The fourth one though, did not laugh.

"What if something bad happened?" the fourth one said.

"Don't be stupid Miss Anna can take care of herself, we follow her orders and we get paid, it's as simple as that," the third one said.

"_I see, so there just hired thugs, chances are they can't fight or do anything remotely useful if they're not carrying those gun around_," Seta thought to himself. He too also noticed that Erynn was taking her time. Seta had a feeling though, that this was no 'nature call.' Seta had already deduced that the cavalry would soon arrive.

The second guard paused a moment, it appeared as if he was listening intently. He raised his gun defensively, almost as if he sensed danger. The first thing this guard heard was a hollow clank noise followed by a strange object that rolled in the direction of the guards. Whatever this object was it gathered the attention of everyone in the room, including the captive archeologists. The object appeared to resemble...a grenade!?

With a small noise the object erupted and the entire cavern was filled in smoke, within several seconds. The first thing was shock, followed by the loss of one's eyes sight. A massive smoke screen filled the area.

"What the hell, cough cough," One of the guards shouted. The four in the middle, the archeologists, couldn't see a thing, they could only lower their heads and close their eyes; for the smoke was too much for anyone to handle. Seta grinned, he knew help had arrived.

Slowly, within several minutes, the smoke cleared, and all four guards now lie unconscious on the ground. Instead, there were now three others standing in their place, as followed: Erynn Jones, Urashima Keitaro, and Noriyasu Setagi. David grinned.

"Erynn! Urashima!" exclaimed Eric.

"Great timing mate!" Robert shouted.

"Part-timer! Pops!" Seta exclaimed. David was also happy to see Keitaro alive, and that their situation was finally turning from bad to good.

"Quick, cut the ropes" David shouted. As quick as lighting, Setagi rushed over with a slender hunter knife and cut the ropes that were binding the four captives. Within seconds everyone was free.

"Let's get out of here!" shouted Keitaro. Everyone agreed, now was no time to celebrate, and escape was top priority. They rushed back toward the cavern area, leading back down to the cavern resovervoir, which led to the exit... Anna was no where to be found. The group rushed outside just in time to watch as Anna made a quick getaway with Setagi's plane, it was, a laughable experience. Considering it was probably under better care then it would be if Setagi or even Seta was flying it. Setagi raised a fist to the skies.

"Damn you woman! I won't forget this you hear me!" Setagi was not happy. Despite the tensions and anxiety, everyone seemed to laugh at Setagi's comment.

Four Hours Later

It was now more of a party, than an exploration. A bunch of drunks more than a bunch of archeologists. A group of men gathered around the camp fire, merely talking about booze, women, and of course, artifacts. The four-armed men turned up missing as well, which was hard to believe considering that they only let their eyes off Anna and the rest for only a few seconds. Setagi assured the group though, she would be back. She was the craftiest of escape artists, no doubt about it. Setagi was Seta's father, and what a site was it to see two Noriyasu's together around the same camp fire. It was a site of a life time, both were indistinguishable, and both father and son shared similar oblivious behaviors. To Keitaro it was like having twin Seta's around.

"Hey part-timer, have another drink!" Seta said pouring more beer into Keitaro's glass. Keitaro was overwhelmed, he felt like he was the center of attention, the life of the party. Keitaro took a swig of beer; it was the first time Keitaro was able to indulge on such a beverage for such a long time. He tried to stay away from that stuff, for it was somewhat bad for your health, and it also reminded him too much of Kitsune, which indirectly made him think about home. On Keitaro's left was Seta, followed by his father Setagi, David, Eric, Jake, and Robert. They were all sitting on fire logs, which served as a temporary means as a seat.

"Boy she was a major bitch back then, so she hasn't changed?" Jake said laughing. Setagi rolled his eyes.

"Are you kidding? Anna is so persistent! She'd follow me to the ends of the Earth if she could," Setagi sneered. Seta laughed.

"Good thing you were nearby to get us out of that mess," Seta said to his father, he then turned to Keitaro. "Good thing you met up with pops here too!"

"Ya mate, ya really saved the day, ya did," Robert said as he raised his glass to Keitaro. David and Jake also raised their glasses to Keitaro, as did everyone else all in unison.

"This is to you part timer! Cheers!" Seta said with a grin. Everyone took a drink, giving cheers to the hero of the day. Even if Setagi was there to rescue them, Keitaro was able to show Setagi exactly where they were being held. Keitaro blushed slightly he felt a bit embarrassed. A female voice called out, shouting to David.

"David? I'm heading to bed now, you boys keep it down!" It was the voice of Aleshia. David called out to her, acknowledging her.

"Yes dear, I'll be along shortly," David said in a deep loud voice. Jake grinned at David, everyone else caught on to what Jake was thinking.

"David you dog, you are the luckiest man alive," Jake snickered. Robert did as well. Eric said nothing; he wasn't showing much emotion tonight at all. David smiled.

"I was merely fortunate to have a girl who was in the same field of study with me during my college days," David said.

"Yeah, but you have no idea how hard it is the find someone who's willing to love you and barely have you at home," Jake said. Robert also agreed.

"Ya mate, its rough life, this business,"

There was a bit of silence, everyone in circle around the campfire was fulfilling their need to see the world. Mainly to get an adventure, for the sake of archeology. The only problem was that deep down, every man with the exception of David, had something that desperately wanted. All they really wanted was someone to come home to, someone to love, and someone to spend the rest of their lives with. David was the only one fortunate enough to have both in his life.

Seta reached into his pocket and revealed a pack of cigarettes; he offered one to each member around the campfire. Only Setagi, David, and Jake accepted. The silence continued and all that could be heard was the sound of crickets against the sound of the crackle of the campfire.

Jake was the only one in the group who was the closest, on giving up on love all together. He had been through more relationships than anyone here. His luck, believe it or not was worse than Keitaro's. He was a college drop out, and took a job as an archeological part time assistant just like Keitaro. However this time around, Jake was the archeologist. He never found a woman that was willing to put up with him always being gone. What good was a relationship if physical distance, was a factor?

Robert had just suffered a divorce from his wife back in Australia. He just wasn't there enough to commit to the relationship and help raise his own son. Robert felt bad that he wasn't around much. He knew that now his son would have to grow up without his father around. He didn't have much of a choice though, archeology was his job. Robert wasn't going to give up hope though, he had plan in mind to get back together with his former wife. Everyone knew Seta's story and how complicated it was with Haruka.

Keitaro was literally stuck in between a rock and a hard place. He listened to the love lives of these fine men. The majority of them had lost what was special to them due to the factor of physical distance. Was Keitaro also doomed to this fate? If he was tempted by the world and the adventures it had to offer; would he be ultimately set up to never find love like his friends? Not only that, it would seem that Erynn was on Keitaro's mind a lot recently. Keitaro had kept his faithfulness to Naru so far, but he was finding it harder and harder to find a way to her heart. Keitaro feared that he would lose everything if he didn't make up his mind quickly.

"So what's your story Setagi?" Jake asked. Everyone grew silent. Only a select handful knew Setagi's past including Seta, and Eric. So everyone else looked exceedingly interested. Setagi's eyes switched from a carefree look, to an austere look.

"I met Seta's mother thirty five years ago, this December will be my fifty fifth birthday, as well as what would have been my thirtieth anniversary. We met in college, it was an innocent love, we would skip class to go hand out for hours, do homework together, and we did everything together." Setagi took a pause, to take a puff of his cigarette, everyone was still listening.

"Five years later after we had graduated from Tokyo University, we got married, shortly afterwards she bore a son into the world," He paused again and placed a hand on Seta's shoulder, grinning, but Seta was not grinning. He knew the story; he knew it all too well.

"During labor, my wife died, in the process of giving birth to Seta, that was thirty years ago," Setagi finished, now looking toward the fire, his hand still placed on Seta's shoulder. There was silence, the shock was apparent, but no words were in existence to describe such shock.

"I would have given my own life, just so that she could have lived, after all she was the one who brought you into this world son, not me, I played a very small part in your creation, life just isn't fair, in the end."

These words put Setagi in a new light. Everyone had there share of a hard life. It was no wonder that David was envied by all. No doubt Seta had to feel partially responsible for his own mother's death. He was alive, and his mother wasn't even alive to see him grow, and turn into the man he was today.

David was the first to rise from the center of men around the campfire, he smiled and left. One by one everyone else did the same. Jake, Robert, Eric, and then eventually Setagi. Seta stood up, and looked down at Keitaro who appeared to be deep in thought. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, and was gone from site.

Love was a battle that everyone had lost to. Keitaro was wondering if he too was going to lose. Everything was falling into play. Naru was rejecting him every step of the way, and slowly but surely Keitaro was becoming an archeologist.

Keitaro suddenly reached for the bucket of water and put out the campfire then proceeded to his tent in an attempt to sleep. He opened his tent to find an additional sleeping bag inside, however it was not dormant, there was a body inside. Judging from the long hair, it was Erynn.

Keitaro only stood there, watching her as she slept. The thought of why she was sleeping in his tent wasn't on his mind, the real question was...

Was he going to lose her too?

To be Continued

Authors Note: Hey folks, yes it's the next chapter out, and I'm still alive. I know it takes a long time for me to get chapters out. But with College and work to consume my time, my options are kind of limited. Next chapter is March, that leaves only one month left for Keitaro. Hehe, the time is ticking Keitaro, what will you do?

Pre-Reader's Notes: waves fight flag! Go Keitaro FIGHT! GO KEITARO WIN! …Or get both of them… whichever.


	16. Eric Jones

Keitaro's Return

Chapter 16

"_...I've boarded up the windows...(windows) to keep the morning from in intrusion...I've left it on the door knob...(door knob) Could you please just not disturb? Days like this we find it so hard, to push ourselves, up and out of bed (bed), when nothing falls in favor of..."_

_I'm the best at ruining my life_

_From Autumn to Ashes _

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March 2nd

6:00 A.M

The alarm went off as it did every morning indicating the start of a new day. While an alarm clock does serve this particular purpose, for Eric Jones however, it was merely an annoying object telling him that it was six in the morning. He unconsciously leaned from his bed side to slap the off button. He sat up and gave a grumble, and scratched his face casually. He slowly opened his eyes; allowing them to absorb the light, as he let out a yawn. He got up out of his bed, and put on his robe that lie near his bed stand.

For the past four years, that bed was never as warm as it used to be, everything just wasn't the same anymore. Eric could easily get up every morning for the rest of his life with a grin on his face because of the sheer fact that he had a significant being in his life that kept him going. But now that person whom meant the world to Eric was no more, she was only existent in distant memories, and sentimental mementos. That would never be enough, when something is lost we are only left fragments of its prior existence, we often find ourselves wanting it all back.

There wasn't one day of his life in which Eric wished he could relive those moments with his wife Laura. Every morning it was the same, Eric's mind was cast into a prison to be tortured day in and day out. I wise man once said, "You do not truly cherish life, until you experience losing it." Eric could relate to this quote, more than anyone else.

Eric then left his darkened room, closing the door to his personal prison, he headed toward the bathroom, and even the bathroom was stricken with priceless memories. He could almost smell her exquisite perfume which filled the air in the morning.

A shower would be first on the agenda for the day; you simply couldn't start a day without one. Eric looked at himself in the mirror, and wiped the sleep from his eyes. Despite him being only of 41 years old, the wear and aging was beginning to show in his eyes. Every day was getting harder and harder. Eric stared into his own dark brown eyes, searching for something that might justify his own existence. He slowly let himself go, as him mind wondered relentlessly.

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_Four Years Ago_

He walked through the door and gave a whiff of the scented air. By the smell, it could be determined that Eric had made it just in time for dinner. Eric walked into the kitchen and saw two individuals whom he was delighted to see. The one woman turned around to greet her husband, her name was Laura Jones. She stood roughly five feet, she had long black hair, and dark green eyes. To Eric, she was a god-send, a beautiful young woman made just for him. Her personality was very meek, but deep inside she had an unyielding personality. Those eyes gave her a hint of vivacity as they were full of life.

Her gentle green eyes stared into Eric's. They shared an embrace, for Eric had been gone for roughly three or four days. The two barely got to see each other because of Eric's line of work, but they somehow kept their marriage very stable, their covenant was as strong as it was when they were first married. Eric smiled at the sight of Erynn near the oven, for it was apparent that Laura had been teaching Erynn how to cook. He went over and rubbed her head, smiling.

However, Erynn quickly jerked away, ignoring her father's affection. It was obvious that she wanted nothing to do with him. For in her own viewpoint he was not a father, he was always gone, and never around to love her. Erynn turned away, avoiding eye contact all together with her father. He continued to smile none the less; he loved his daughter, even if she didn't know it.

"Erynn honey, aren't you going to say hi to your father?" Laura said calmly. Erynn eventually left, her stubborn behavior was still a problem.

_Several Months Later_

"We've just gathered the last of the supplies, it's time we make our way to the Tiber River," Eric said. Seta smiled, as he gathered his things, he glanced over to Haruka to make sure she was ready to go as well.

"Are we all set?" Seta asked. Haruka and Eric nodded their heads in unison. From the Tiber River, they would head north, and hopefully get better luck then their last excavation site. It had already been three weeks, and another week in Italy was all that was left. The trio of archeologists took formation in a single line. Suddenly Eric's cell phone rang, and he reached into his back pocket to answer. No one would have ever anticipated what Eric was about to be informed, no one saw it coming.

"But Haruka, It honestly wasn't my fault! My father got us into that mess!" Seta exclaimed. Haruka smacked Seta over the head with a shovel.

"Don't give me that bull shit, like father like son. You're just as bad as your dad; I wouldn't be surprised if you had..." Haruka paused when she noticed Seta's reaction change dramatically. Seta was looking over at Eric. Eric, was dead frozen, there was no motion from his body. There was only the cell phone near his ear.

"Eric?" Seta said. He walked over toward Eric, trying to find out what was wrong with his friend. Eric's eyes were dead, there was no light in them, it was as if suddenly without warning all strains of emotion was leeched from his entire body; the very soul of Eric Jones was gone. In his hand was a cell phone. Seta took the cell phone and placed it up to his ear. Haruka grew silent, she only showed wavering eyes.

"Hello?"

"Seta, it's David, I'm here at the hospital, Laura has..."

Silence

It was like the whole world ceased to exist, nothing was audible, only silence. Pure...unbridled...absolute...silence.

Seta heard the last word in the sentence; he dropped the phone in shock.

This day forward, Eric Jones would never be the same man as he once was. A look of unspeakable anguish filled the face of Eric, his eyes were welling with tears, and he screamed out in denial. He embraced Seta, crying every ounce of his soul out. Seta closed his eyes, no words were spoken. Haruka turned away, whatever had happened it couldn't be good.

Nothing would ever be the same...ever again. His life felt meaningless. What was the point of living now?

"Dad?" Eric could already see his daughter's questioning eyes...

Nothing...would ever be the same again.

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Eric Jones was instantly brought back to reality as a warm sensation touched his shoulder. He could see that it was his only daughter, Erynn. Eric slowly turned around to face his daughter.

"Dad? Are you alright?" Erynn said showing concern. Eric instantly laughed.

"Ha, yeah, just lost in thought, that's all, I appreciate your concern though," Eric leaned down to kiss Erynn on the head. Erynn was slightly embarrassed, but it was her father none the less. Eric just laughed, and Erynn was soon on her way.

Eric was left alone in the bathroom, to fight off the demons inside. Eric had always been at the bottom of the pits, always in constant despair for his loss. He was remarkably good at hiding his feelings from the world, a master of deceiving others. No one really knew what he was feeling. However, despite his deceitfulness, there was only one person whom he could not deceive, and that was Erynn. She could see it in his eyes, the loneliness within him. His eyes gave way to a barren wasteland of sorrows and despair.

With Keitaro's help, Erynn had a rough time getting her life back into order. It still hurt her badly that there was no mother in her life, but she still had a father and Jody in her life. Seta could only sympathize for Eric. He lost Sara's mother, and his own mother, but Seta was still ever vigilant to keep his life intact, it may very well be that Seta's clumsiness and obliviousness was simply a mask to keep the world in the dark about his past. Perhaps...Seta was the best at deceiving?

Eric undressed solemnly and got into the shower. There were no scars physically, but mentally, there were too many to even comprehend; too many to count. You could only count them by the hundreds.

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"_Kei-kun_, _did you know that if two people who love each other go to Tokyo U, they'll live happily ever after?" said a familiar voice. Keitaro looked to his left to find Naru and Mutsumi, both of them young kids, in the middle however...there was a third girl, with black hair. _

"_Huh? Who said that?" Keitaro asked. The black haired girl raised her head revealing her face, it was...Erynn!?_

"_Oh my, that sounds like a great idea, can I go to Tokyo U as well Kei-kun?!" Mu-chan said. _

"_Me...too!" Na-chan said as well. Despite the shock, Keitaro's eyes caught glimpse of something else. While the four of them were sitting inside of the sandbox, on the outside of the sandbox to the very right was a man, whose face was unrecognizable. All that could be seen was a solemn face, and in the man's right hand was a bouquet of red and white flowers. He turned to Keitaro, tears flowing down, he spoke aloud. _

"_Will I ever be happy?" with that the man vanished from sight. _

"Keitaro..."

"Keitaro, how long are you going to sleep?"

A piercing voice made its way into Keitaro's head, as he was attempting to sleep. He awoke, his dream was interrupted. Fortunately for Keitaro it was too weird of a dream anyways and he wanted to awaken. He still felt a bit tired, he let out a tired half heartened grin at the sight of Erynn, and it was a laughable experience. It was enough to make Erynn laugh, as she did. She grabbed a hold of Keitaro arm and drug him out of his bed, into the hallway. He was half dressed, but didn't seem to mind much.

"I can walk you know," Keitaro said laughing. Erynn paused for a second to let Keitaro get to his feet. He chuckled some more.

"Say um...Keitaro?" Erynn said looking unusually flustered. Keitaro looked at her.

"What is it?" Keitaro laughed, but quickly noticed that Erynn was acting...strange. Erynn looked down, purposely avoiding eye contact. Keitaro was no fool, although he had no idea what was wrong with her, he could still tell there was something apparently wrong. The look in her eyes gave lead to impending despair. Keitaro quickly took the initiative, he shyly grabbed her by the hand.

"Why don't we discuss this over breakfast?" Keitaro said with a quiet voice. Erynn felt heartened. Normally when she would look depressed, people would usually turn away. It was generally how the world was. Everyone had problems, and it seemed that people only cared about their own problems. For Keitaro, it was evident that he stuck his neck out to help others solve their problems. Keitaro was one of a kind. Maybe that was why Erynn loved him so much?

Keitaro soon grew accustom to traditional American breakfast entrees. He could not however completely abandon his Japanese heritage. His breakfast platter consisted of eggs, bacon, some toast, and a bowl of miso soup, with a side of sake'. A strange combination, indeed; but Keitaro would not give up miso soup for the world, especially if it was made by Hinata Sou's resident female cook. Erynn's miso soup was surprisingly just as good, so Keitaro could not pass up the offer.

Erynn sat across from Keitaro, who was also enjoying a hearty breakfast. Eric Jones was sitting in his usual chair, reading the daily paper. He seemed unusually quiet today, not a word of greeting escaped from his mouth when Keitaro passed by. Keitaro thought nothing of it, he did not realize anything was wrong. Seta did not appear to be around at all today, it was concluded that he had a class to teach at the University. That is, if Seta managed to survive the drive TO the university! It was a solemn day to say the least.

"I have to go into town today, to run an errand; would you like to come with me?" Erynn said very quietly. Her eyes grew dark, and very solemn. Keitaro looked her in the eyes. Those eyes were the same exact stoical eyes that Keitaro witnessed long ago, cold and detached and stricken with an impassive irregularity. She then slowly looked into Keitaro's eyes, searching for an answer. Her eyes were now pleading, Keitaro could see it. Eric was still silent; all that was heard was the paper being grasped as he turned the page.

"Sure...I'll go," Keitaro said smiling. Erynn felt immense relief. She had gone to fulfill a deed that essential year after year, and every year she had gone alone. This task was something that should be done with her father; however they were still quite distant when it came to the issue at hand. This year, Erynn did not want to go alone to fulfill this one task. Erynn stood from the table, and waltzed over to her father, whose face was still buried in the paper.

"You know there's nothing interesting in the paper anyways?" Erynn said with a chuckle. Eric lowered the paper, he raised an eyebrow in a questioning way. Erynn smiled, leaned forward and gave her father a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm heading out with Keitaro for a bit," Erynn informed her father. Eric glanced back toward Keitaro. Keitaro engaged direct eye contact with Eric. There was definitely something strange going on, Keitaro was no fool.

Suddenly, it appeared, it was the SAME exact look that Erynn showed to Keitaro almost 3 months ago. The lifelessness in his eyes, the dreary cold hearted stare that Keitaro still couldn't get out of his mind. It felt like a stab in the heart, they broke off eye contact almost immediately. Eric switched modes again; he smiled to his daughter, and then buried his face in the paper again.

"Have fun," was all that Eric said. Erynn grabbed the keys from the table, and motioned Keitaro to follow. Both Erynn and Keitaro departed from the house from the front door. Leaving Eric Jones alone.

The calendar that hung on the wall near the kitchen marked the 2nd day of March. On that particular day there was red lettering written in. It read two letters, L, and J followed by a heart symbol.

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The car ride to town was a quiet one. Normally Keitaro would strike up a conversation with Erynn. But this time around, it was nothing but unsettling silence. Keitaro had feared that something was wrong with both Eric and Erynn. But the more he thought about it, the less he understood why.

"Would you like to grab a bite to eat Keitaro?" Erynn said firmly. Keitaro almost instantly answered, he did not want to let the silence prevail.

"Yeah...s-sure..." Keitaro spoke aloud.

"Where do you want to go?" She asked him. Keitaro took the question into consideration. However he felt that this time around he was going to relinquish making the decision for her. It was obvious to Keitaro that Erynn was down, now was not the time to be selfish. The Corvette came to a red light, Erynn slowly came to a stop. Keitaro looked over to her, he smiled.

"Erynn...where do you want to go?" Keitaro asked. She said nothing at first, her eyes continued to watch, and wait for the red light to change. The silence lingered, Erynn was silent. Keitaro shyly placed his hand onto her hand, which seemed to bring her back to life.

"Erynn? Where do you want to go?" Keitaro asked again. Erynn thought about it for a moment, but deep down she already knew where she wanted to go. The intersection light had finally turned green, as if was finally her turn to proceed.

"I know of a place," Erynn said.

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The restaurant was actually a cozy little place. It was small, but it had that warm and fuzzy feeling to it. A sort of nostalgic feeling of home one might say. There were hardly any people there. Off to the left there was a couple laughing and enjoying a cup of coffee. It was a peaceful place to kick back and relax from life for a while. This small coffee shop had a simple arrangement of wooden tables and comfortable leather padded chairs. The place had the fresh smell of coffee beans, and baked bread. Upon arrival Keitaro found himself amazed at the very atmosphere that such a small place had to offer. Soft classical melodies played over the radio that lay near the shop keeper's checkout stand. Near the checkout stand was a display of coffee varieties, as well as a menu which showed a wide variety of pastries, and fruit croissants.

"_What a place this is_!" Keitaro thought to himself.

Keitaro followed Erynn's lead, as she led him toward a seat next to the window, which gave a view of the city. Keitaro sat down, facing Erynn. Silence prevailed for several minutes. Both Keitaro and Erynn made an order for a cup of coffee as well as some coffee cakes. Not only was this place filled with a serene mood, but the coffee was delicious, Keitaro noted.

"This place..." Erynn started to say. Keitaro took a sip of his coffee, he was amazed.

"...is amazing..." Keitaro finished with a smile. "I can't say I've seen anything like this back home," Keitaro was quite taken by this place, since it was all new to him. But to Erynn, this place was all too familiar. She could almost smell the sweet nectar of her mother's perfume coming from where Keitaro was sitting.

"My mother and I used to come here all the time," Erynn said solemnly. Keitaro eyes widened slightly, and his eyes looked down.

_So that's why we're here..._

"We used to sit in this exact spot, you're now sitting in the exact location of where my mother used to sit," Erynn said while gazing out the window. Keitaro was silent, his eyes showed signs of concern, but he listened intently. Erynn felt slightly nostalgic, it had been four years since she had been in this shop, but it still felt so familiar.

"I'm sorry I lied to you," Erynn said, her eyes shifted to make contact with Keitaro, but he was still gazing down at his coffee. Keitaro's voice was soft.

"About what?" He asked, finally looking toward her.

"Back when you took me bowling, that wasn't the first time I had ever played," Erynn admitted. Keitaro smiled, he actually let out a laugh.

"Oh I knew..." Keitaro smirked. Erynn actually smiled too.

"What? Was my initial throw of the ball not enough convince you otherwise?" Erynn said laughing. As Keitaro remembered, her first throw of the bowling ball was one that was questionable. But Keitaro knew that no amateur could beat him at bowling. However concerning that last statement, there was just NO way Mutsumi could be an amateur either, something was just odd about that girl.

"Your technique is one that I've seen before," Keitaro said. He straightened his posture, eyes still fixated on Erynn's. "...but why didn't you just come out and tell me that you bowled before?"

Erynn grew silent for a second or two.

"My mother used to take me bowling all the time," Erynn said.

"I'm sorry...I didn't know..." Keitaro started to say, but Erynn quickly intervened.

"No...I'm really glad, I really had a good time, you even saved my life that night," Erynn said with a smile. Keitaro blushed slightly. Keitaro would never truly understand how much he meant to Erynn, he was completely oblivious. Keitaro had restored the family ties within the Jones family, but within the heart of Erynn, she felt something indescribable. She had never fallen in love before, but there was a first time for everything. Erynn's hand reached across the table, and shyly took grasp of Keitaro big left hand.

"There's one more place I need to go," Erynn said nervously. "Will you go with me?" Her eyes, this time, resembled a lost puppy. Keitaro had already gone this far with Erynn, what harm would there be in going all the way? He already had an idea of where the last destination was on Erynn's mind. Keitaro let out a warm, compassionate smile. It was the same smile he reserved only for Shinobu. It was a smile that said, "I'm here for you no matter what, so don't worry,"

"Okay," Keitaro simply said.

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Shortly Seta had arrived back home to greet his friend Eric. He sat in his favorite chair, reading a book. Seta laughed, that man had a different book in his hand almost every day. Eric was like a walking encyclopedia, a stoical, enigmatic prodigy, bearing the torture of everyday living. Eric had said nothing to his friend. He only gave a quick nod; he hadn't noticed what was in Seta's hand. Seta was actually carrying a bouquet of flowers. They were red and white roses. Seta then walked over and sat the flowers down in front of his friend. Eric ceased his reading and placed his book down, looking over the assortment of flowers. He smirked slightly.

"Isn't it a bit late for Valentines Day there Seta?" Eric said with a laugh. Seta looked chagrinned.

"Don't play dumb Eric, you know what these are for, I've already been over there to pay my respects, now do I need to tell you to do the same?" Seta said. Eric felt angered, but he didn't show it. He only lowered his head in shame.

"Will you...go with me?" Eric asked quietly. Seta smiled, "Of course,"

But of course, Seta knew that if anyone should go with Eric, it should have been Erynn. Regardless, Seta was willing to go above and beyond for any friend. Eric grabbed the bouquet of flowers and motioned his friend to follow.

The two left the house. Seta would once again that day pay his respects to a great friend, and Eric would undoubtedly face more compilations throughout his life. But Seta knew, that as long as Eric had good friends to support him through such a rough time, that he could get through this, and he wouldn't have to do it alone.

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Both Erynn and Keitaro arrived at their predetermined location. This was not Keitaro's first time here, in all actuality; he had come here on one occasion when Eric and Seta was with him. So he knew, exactly where he was.

This place was filled with nothing but lush grass, a beautiful sky line, and a certain sense of serenity in the air. This place was magical, and Eric found it to be a proper place for Laura. Keitaro thought so too. It was the kind of place where you could lie in the grass and fall asleep, it was just that peaceful. Silence filled the air, the only thing that could be a heard were delicate footsteps, as Erynn and Keitaro approached the gravestone of Laura Jones. The sky gave way to dusk, the color was a bleeding crimson.

"Mother," Erynn said aloud. Keitaro just starred ahead, not saying anything. While most people would find it weird to talk to the dead. Keitaro was sympathetic; he did not find it weird at all. Erynn went on, talking out loud, as if she was speaking to an actual person. Keitaro tried to slowly walk away, to give Erynn some privacy.

Erynn quickly grabbed Keitaro's arm, indicating that she wanted him by her side. To Erynn, Keitaro was kind of like family, so it was okay for him to be here as well. Erynn quickly continued to talk. Keitaro noticed first hand that while Erynn was talking, she had a smile on her face. It was actually a warm heartfelt smile.

This smile was one that Keitaro had never seen. In all actuality, it was the same smile that Erynn would show to her mother frequently whenever she was alive. It was no wonder that Keitaro had never seen it before, that smile was reserved for only Laura. After a couple of minutes, Erynn placed her flowers down, next to another set of flowers. Erynn knew that these flowers were Seta's. Seta was always the first person to visit her on this day every year. It was questionable whether or not Seta felt partially responsible for what had happened. Seta was the reason for Eric leaving for Europe, so it was possible that Seta felt somewhat responsible.

Keitaro was the only fortunate one to have never felt such despair, and sadness when it came to losing someone. He could only sympathize; he could imagine what it felt like. He cringed at the very thought of how it felt.

Keitaro suddenly felt Erynn latch onto him. She was done talking, she had paid her respects to her mother. Erynn embraced Keitaro, she was slightly sobbing. At times, Keitaro felt that he wasn't worthy enough to have someone like Erynn in his life. Of course, he felt the same way about Naru too, such kindness portrayed toward him was indeed rare, and Keitaro really couldn't complain; he just felt at times that he was unworthy of her; or rather any of the girls back home. Keitaro slowly reciprocated his embrace, blushing slightly; he gave a solemn smile, and reached up to gently stroke her black silky hair. He closed his eyes, absorbing the moment.

"I miss her..." Erynn sobbed. She then tightened her grip on Keitaro shirt, and Keitaro embraced even harder. There were no words that could be provided for Erynn. All that Keitaro could do was be there, whenever she needed someone. He looked up, hearing a sound off in the distance; Erynn did not seem to notice.

Slowly but surely, Keitaro could see two figures from the horizon approach. They were heading straight for Keitaro. As they grew closer, their faces grew grim. There intentions were obvious, by the bouquet of flowers that lie dormant in their hands. Closer still, Keitaro was finally able to distinguish who these two were. They were no other than Eric Jones and Seta Noriyasu.

As they approached even closer, Eric froze. He saw his daughter embracing Keitaro, which wasn't the problem at all. Seta only smiled at the site of Erynn and Keitaro together. Erynn finally heard the two approaching. The shock in her eyes was apparent, when her eyes met the eyes of her father. Erynn slowly released herself from Keitaro. Both daughter and father, staring into each others eyes, trying to form words something...anything.

Nothing was said, the silence continued. In Eric's left hand was a bouquet of red and white flowers. He felt shameful that he couldn't say anything to his own daughter. Keitaro was about to speak, however, Erynn quickly rushed over and embraced her father tightly. The two cried into each others arms. Seta silently walked past them, walking toward his friend, he had a grin on his face.

"Seta..." Keitaro said. Seta placed a hand on Keitaro's head, and smiled.

"This is the way it should have been," Seta said. Both Keitaro and Seta looked onward in the direction of Erynn and Eric. "Those two haven't been able to come here together since four years ago," Seta said smiling.

Keitaro smiled as well, it was great to see those two finally come together despite everything they had to go through. After all, no one should have to share sadness alone. Sometimes all it takes is to offer a shoulder to cry on to make someone's life a little bit easier.

Eric Jones would never have to be alone. He still had his daughter, and she had him. As long as they had each other, they could get through anything.

To be continued

Authors Note: Things are becoming increasingly harder and harder by the weeks to come in my life as a College student. Make that, a student of a private college. No I'm not rich, and that's the problem. For all those who've experienced the college life, you know how hard it is. Whenever you are a full time student and working your self to the point of insanity is the least of your troubles. While most would be burdened by such a life, I continue my promise. My story will some day be finished; I swear this on the Writer's Oath. Thank you for all the support, again to my fans. bows Dimitri, always a pleasure my friend.

Pre-Reader's Note: Okay people, don't kill Ein, this one is actually MY fault. I apparently have had this in my inbox for about a month and never noticed! Gomen no sai! Anyways; I don't have much to say… I've got a midterm in 2 hours, 2 projects due on Monday, and a website to build by Sunday. Peace!

Authors Note: Hey, we've got busy lives Dimitri, college is always hard, and then there's work and where does the time go?! Until next time folks! Ein out. Update: Thanks to GaleBread I was able to find an error that I completely mis looked, I had said at the beginning of the chapter that Eric was 31, however, if you take into consideration that Erynn is 18, that wouldn't make sense. I initially meant to put 41. Now I know why I should have paid more attention in typing class whenever we did numbers...sigh


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